


People Like Us

by bambi (squeezethosepotatoes)



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Death, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Oral Sex, Romance, Rough Sex, Sex, Smut, Swearing, Vaginal Sex, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:00:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 38,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28283604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squeezethosepotatoes/pseuds/bambi
Summary: "Fuckin' hell, V, really?" Johnny said both in shock and awe. "Don't tell me you're falling for a cop, fuckin Night City's Finest?"V stared out into the neon lights of the city from her apartment window, Johnny leaning on the wall beside her. She didn't answer him. Why would she even have to? Even though he couldn't read all her thoughts, they ARE sharing the same brain. He knew how she felt, his question was answered long before he even asked. Her situation is complicated and she knew it wouldn't be fair to drag him into it. There are no happy endings for people like her, not in Night City. The city eats you alive if you don't have what it takes to rise above it but even then there's a reason living legends are few and far between.Her phone rang cutting through the thick silence that befell her and Johnny.It was him. She contemplated whether or not she should accept the call or let it ring out.Johnny lit a cigarette, "All right, fine. Do what you want, but you know what happens to people like us, like me.""That's the thing, Johnny," She said. "I'm not like you."
Relationships: Female V/River Ward, Goro Takemura/Female V, Johnny Silverhand/Female V
Comments: 30
Kudos: 256





	1. I Fought the Law

**Author's Note:**

> Hola friends! I'm absolutely in love with Cyberpunk 2077 at the moment. The lore, the world, the characters and the story are so good and it's inspired me to write a new fic. This one I'm hoping to be a long-ish fic that follows the main story of the game plus some side missions. I'm going to take the liberty to flesh out the River/Female V romance because holy fuck CDPR made it so bare bones. River practically disappears once you finish his questline. We don't even get any texts or updates from him and omg please tell me I'm not the only one that wishes we could have more rounds with River after the 1st one hehe ;)
> 
> It's clear CDPR favours the Judy/Panam romances more T.T so I've decided to take it into my own hands and do it myself.
> 
> I'll try to roll out chapters as regularly as I can so I thank you in advance for your patience!

"Are you fuckin' kidding me?"

"What?" V asked. "What now, Johnny?"

Johnny shifted in his seat. Even though he was an engram he was still aware of how uncomfortably small and trapped he felt sitting in the passenger seat of V's new car. "Right, so you broke in, hacked the operating system and had it repainted."

V shrugged, "I don't get what you're complaining about honestly, it's a fine car."

"V, it's made for _children_ ," Johnny replied instantly. "You went through all that trouble for a tiny Japanese car."

"And? I like it," She said with a proud smile. "It's fast, functional and convenient. Look, we can squeeze through traffic and go through the sidewalk if it's empty. 'Sides, if you hate it so much then fuckin' go back in my brain then."

Johnny looked her dead in the eye. This fuckin' woman... she's insane, she's gotta be, "Of all the heads in the entire planet, I had to pop up in yours," he sighed. "Just drive. I _wanted_ to sit in the passenger seat for once and stretch my legs from sittin' in your egg-scrambled brain 24/7 but I guess I don't get to have what I want. Again."

"Christ, Johnny, I don't smoke so don't take it out on me," V said stepping on the gas pedal. "If you're going through some kinda withdrawal then I don't know, I'll chew some fuckin' gum or something." She switched to the Principales radio station, turning up the volume. "Okay, off we go."

V drove down the street, narrowly avoiding cars and threading the needle in between a few of them. She was right about the size and efficiency of this small car but he wasn't going to admit it. The neon lights of Night City blurred as they passed. If there was one thing Johnny was grateful for, it's that he wasn't physically alive to experience V's reckless driving. She had a satisfied look on her face as if she were reading his thoughts and Johnny couldn't help but hide a small smile. His relationship with V wasn't perfect, in fact, they were always at each other's throats. They gave each other a hard time but he was enjoying every single moment of it. It reminded him of when he was alive, forging his rebel path. He butt heads with his bandmates all the fuckin' time, especially Kerry, but those were the good times and their most creative work was borne from those arguments.

This V that he found himself tied to every single second of the day was an eccentric one, even by his own standards. She dressed in flashy colours yet loved to sneak around instead of going guns blazing. She was loud and brash but also thoughtful. She took the time to help out anyone who called her even if there were no eddies on the line yet refused help from others or at least needed to be persuaded into accepting the help. He didn't agree with everything she did but what was he to do except sit back and watch? He couldn't do anything unless she willingly gave up control of her body.

They arrived at their destination far quicker than he expected. Militech trucks surrounded the street while civilians crowded around the holographic police line to get a better look. V parked the car around the block.

"This is it," V said pulling out her phone from her neon pink trench coat pocket. "Regina said there was a cyberpsycho around here and judging by all this bad shit around, they're close by. Ready to roll?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Nope!" V opened the car door, heading towards the trunk where she kept her bigger weapons. Johnny appeared right beside her. "Regina said to try and keep these guys alive so she can study them. I modded this shotgun so it's non-lethal." She reached towards the back where a white cowboy hat was placed on top of a sniper. "Looks cool, huh?"

Johnny chortled, "Aldecaldo girl give that to you?"

"Panam?" V shut the trunk of the car shut. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Nothin' just that you got on a neon pink trench coat, a black and red bustier, gradient neon green pants and heels," He said. "What's the message here?"

V rolled her eyes, "Oh so now you're not only a Rockerboy and anti-corp extremist but also a fuckin' fashion critic. Let's just get it over with, I'm starving."

"Fine, I'll watch your back."

* * *

V crashed on her couch legs heavy from the fight she just had. The cyberpsycho was some Militech lieutenant that went off the rails and wanted help from her employer only to have a hit squad put out on her. It was a tough battle, one that took a toll on V. The cyberpsycho was fast and V was afraid she was going to run out of non-lethal bullets. At one point she had to sling her shotgun behind her back and punch the shit out the lieutenant just to save some bullets. 

"You should eat, V," Johnny said. "You were running out of energy fast during the fight. I can only warn you so much before your brain starts gettin' fried."

V sighed, "Yeah I know. I just forget sometimes." She threw off her cowboy hat and flung it across the room onto her bed. "I gotta text Coach Fred and tell him I'm not showing up for training tonight."

"Please don't tell me you're ordering another box of Buck-A-Slice," Johnny whined.

"It's the nearest thing and I'm fuckin' starving, okay? And you're not even physically here so you don't get to have a say in what I eat," She replied as she took off her coat. "Can you, I don't know, not look while I'm undressing?"

Johnny scoffed, "Hey dumbass, I live in your head remember? I saw you naked a bunch of times."

"Ugh, fine, I know, just can you like disappear into your little space then? Give me at least the illusion of privacy," V conceded. 

"All right, all right, I'll head into that deep corner in your mind. Just pretend I'm not there."

As there were perks to having a 54 year old ghost in her head, there were also a whole lot of cons. Privacy suddenly wasn't a luxury she could have anymore. Ever since Johnny got stuck in her head, she couldn't even have the relief of touching herself or having meaningless sex. She felt it too awkward. It wasn't like she didn't talk to Johnny about it, after all, she is still human. He assured her that there was a part of her brain that he retreats to almost like his own space where he sat in solitude away from her thoughts and when he stepped out of that corner it was as if he were stepping outside to hear her thoughts and feel her emotions. Although he explained it like that, V didn't want to take the chance. What if he left his space while she was in the middle of something? Then again, she did shower and get undressed before the two established mutual trust... but still, she thought. Too awkward.

The pizza came just a few minutes after she finished showering and getting dressed. V put up her feet on the table and flipped on the television to the news. It was her time to catch up on the goings on in Night City and around the world. 

"You know, you never answered Dexter DeShawn's question," Johnny said suddenly as he appeared sitting next to V. He popped up randomly so often, she had gotten used to it. She even liked having the company around. Ever since Jackie... well things haven't been the same and will never be again.

"Blaze of glory or quiet life?" V pondered the question. "I dunno, fuckin' every kid I grew up with around here lived and swore by making it to the top and becoming a legend of Night City."

Johnny nodded, "Uh-huh, and few ever make it out alive, case in point: me."

"Rogue's still alive and she's a legend," V replied with a smirk. She knew Rogue was a sensitive topic for Johnny ever since he saw how much she'd changed over the years.

"She's different, V, she sold out," he said with a hint of venom. It felt almost like betrayal to him, that she would turn her back on who she was and what they fought for all those years ago. Rogue is alive but she's not the Rogue he once knew. "You still haven't answered."

"I-"

V's phone rang. It displayed a picture of an elegant woman, her hair carefully slicked back with some volume at the front, a contrast to V's long and messy dark hair. 

"Who the hell?" V asked. "Elizabeth Peralez?" 

V answered the phone and the elegant woman appeared as a holo. She was smartly dressed and well put together. V figured she might either be some big shot corpo or a public official. 

"Hello," the woman said. "We haven't met. I'm Elizabeth. My husband and I need a somewhat delicate matter... handled. We think you can help."

V's eyebrow arched upwards, "Mind my askin' who your husband is? Actually... who're you?"

"I'd rather not discuss details on the phone. Please meet with us. We'll explain everything. As I said, it is a rather delicate matter," Elizabeth answered.

V remained unconvinced, "What's so delicate about that matter?"

"I'd rather not discuss it on the phone, if you don't mind," Elizabeth repeated. "Can we meet?"

V looked at Johnny who gave her a look of warning, "Sure... let's do that," She replied. Both her and Johnny were curious and she figured the only way they'll find out is if she agreed to meet up. Whatever it was, she'll handle it like she does with all other things.

"I'll send you the address. See you."

"She hung up," V said. "Elizabeth Peralez? Why's that name so familiar?"

Johnny shook his head, "Look, if a job starts like a classic whodunnit - some femme fatale calls you up, refuses to give you deets and just calls to meet - one of three things is going down: you're dreaming, you're scrollin' a shit BD or someone's hazing you good. I think you can scratch off the first two."

V stood up and stretched. "Well so much for catchin' a break. We're not gonna know shit unless we meet up with these Peralezes."

* * *

"Wait wait, Jefferson Peralez, the one running for mayor of Night City?" V exclaimed. 

Both husband and wife seemed pleased by the reaction.

"The one," Elizabeth said.

V extended her hand still bewildered by the information she just learned, "Well damn, nice to meet you Mr. Peralez, Mrs. Peralez."

Jefferson smiled, "Hm, right again, Liz. You see my wife is a great judge of character. Said this would work. Now I see why. I gather you now understand why discretion is of utmost importance."

V could hear Johnny snorting in her brain upon hearing the statement. V ignored him, "So... whaddaya got for me?"

Elizabeth turned her eyes to the driver, "Carter, let's go." The car began to move at her word. "As you know, Mayor Lucius Rhyne recently passed."

"We want to know how, why and whatever else is pertinent," her husband continued. 

"Yeah I was just watchin' about that on the news before you called. It’s all over the feeds," V said.

Elizabeth scoffed, "Pf, of course it is. Pieces like that are the media's lifeblood."

V slowly nodded, catching on to the job she knew she was about to receive, "You think they missed somethin'?"

"We have reason to believe so, yes," Elizabeth agreed.

"Far as I remember, someone tried to zero Rhyne few days before his death," V recalled.

"The NCPD sees no link. They're saying it was a random cyberpsycho attack-"

"And claimed the mayor died of natural causes," Jefferson finished.

Elizabeth nodded, "Causes unrelated to the attack. It's in the official reports. Rhyne died at home due to a 'cardioimplant malfunction'."

V squinted her eyes, trying to figure out the couple's angle, "These suspicions of yours... they have anything to do with the upcoming election?"

"'Course they would. If Lucius Rhyne was murdered, we want to know, we _need_ to know. My wife and I were able to extract a BD of the cyberpsycho attack prior to Rhyne's death at great cost. If you agree to help us now, you can see it."

V figured she was in too deep to back out now. She was dealing with high ranking public officials, even if she were to say no, they would know who she is and how much she knows, "Lemme see what I can do," she said extending her hand. 

Jefferson pulled the shard from his pocket, "Excellent. We'd be happy with any finds to clarify the situation, alleviate any doubts."

The merc slotted the shard into the BD wreath Judy had given her and put it on. The lights flashed in her eyes bright and she was suddenly faced with a large burly man, a bodyguard she figured.

Johnny appeared behind him, "Well what do we got here?"

"Question is, what're you doin' here?" V replied.

"My brain too isn't it?" Johnny hit back, taking a long drag from his cigarette.

V and Johnny watched the BD play out. The guy scrolling apparently had a history of scrolling asses instead of watching over the mayor. They were in some kind of conference room in the NCPD headquarters. The guy scrolling left the conference room to patrol the outside of it where a scanner was placed by a police desk to scan anyone that enters the vicinity. Everything looked so sleek around the mayor who was practicing his speech. V wondered what the streets might look like if they put in more budget into helping the people instead of these places. She continued to watch the BD, Johnny making some slight approving comment about the thought she just had.

"Whoa, hold it," she heard the guy at the police desk say.

A tall, well-built man wearing a long brown trench coat let out a sound of exasperation as the scanner beeped loudly and turned red.

"Stop right there," he continued. 

Without a word, the tall man swiped his badge while rolling his eyes and headed straight to the conference room. 

Or so he tried.

"Slow your roll," Lark, the man scrolling the BD comanded.

The tall man lifted his badge, "River Ward, NCPD."

V got a good look at him. He was handsome, she thought and Johnny couldn't help but let out a disapproving sound. "Focus V," he reminded.

"I can't admire?" V said playfully as she paused the BD. "This River guy has an implant on his eye, might've been from an accident or somethin'." She continued to examine his face. He was rugged, there were lines on his face as if the job had taken its toll on him. Still, V thought, a badge is a badge no matter how attractive they are.

She unpaused the BD. 

"It's important, gotta speak with the mayor's chief of security," River said with urgency.

Lark shook his head, "Preem. Do it after the conference."

River pushed past him ignoring his order. Before Lark could even say anything, he felt a sudden searing pain in his stomach. He looked down to find long mantis blades plunged deep into him. V and Johnny felt the shock just as he did and they both winced in pain, watching as the cop named River downed the attacker. 

"Fuck!" V yelled out when the BD finished. "That fuckin' hurt."

"Agreed," Johnny said. "Let's gather these clues and get the fuck outta here."

V and Johnny scanned through the entire BD trying to piece together clues of what might have precipitated the death of Lucius Rhyne. They uncovered a few things: Peter Horvath, Red Queen's Race and River Ward. The first 2 were strong leads and the last one, probably someone they needed to contact since he seemed to know something.

V left the braindance only to find herself by her lonesome in the car while the Peralezes were waiting by a Delamain AV.

"You're here, fantastic," Jefferson greeted. "Did you see anything suspicious or are we paranoid?"

V handed the shard back, "Whole thing stinks worse than Coronado bay in July."

"Huh, so suspicions confirmed," he said.

"I got some leads, let me know if you know anything about 'em - Red Queen's Race, Weldon Holt and River Ward," V informed him.

Jefferson had a disgusted look on his face, "Weldon Holt. Rhyne's deputy and bulldog so to speak. He's running in Rhyne's place now. As for Red Queen's Race, you got me, I don't know anything about it. Detective River Ward is a good guy, we worked a few cases together. You wanna talk to 'im, I'll put you in touch."

"Now don't get so excited V," Johnny teased. "I saw the way you were scanning him."

V ignored Johnny... again. "I'll call Ward. Ward had great timing, sheesh. Either had crazy good luck or had a source. I'm gonna need both of 'em."

Jefferson nodded, "Sending you his deets. If you need anything else, let us know and we'll help."

The couple boarded the AV, leaving V alone. Time she called this River Ward and see what he's about. 

"I know you haven't been with a man in a while because of me, V, but he's a badge," Johnny said as he appeared in front of her. "Badges are badges just like you thought."

V waved him away, "Johnny, shut the fuck up, I was just admirin' him. I grew up on the streets, I know what badges are about."


	2. Down the River

" **こんにちは** ( _Konnichiwa_ )!"

Johnny rolled his eyes so deep into his skull he thought he could see the back of his engram, "Seriously, V?"

"What?" V said with a bite. 

"You chose this bubble car because you like the way it greets you every time you enter, didn't you? I can hear you giggling to yourself in your brain."

V's brows furrowed, "First, that's fuckin' creepy, second, yeah, so? I don't get why you're still on this."

Johnny held his head in his hand. Crazy, psycho, insane... she's gotta be. Whatever, he thought to himself, the tiny car is the least of their worries, "Where'd that badge say he wanted to meet again?"

"Chubby Buffalo's," she replied. "Little far away from my place but with the Mai Mai*, we'll get there fast. You can thank me later."

V took her two favourite handguns, a custom Overture and her trusty Dying Night, one holstered in her thigh holster and the other at her waist and laid them by her side, "Johnny, you think I'm gonna need more heat?"

The Rockerboy shrugged, "Never too much iron, V, never. 'Specially when we're meeting up with a badge."

"Right," V said as she stepped on the gas. "Off we go then."

"You doin' okay?" Johnny asked after a few minutes. "You seem... unusually quiet."

V sighed, "You're in my brain, you know what I'm thinkin' about."

Johnny wasn't satisfied, "We share a brain, sure but that doesn't mean I know everything there is to know."

"Just, I don't know, badges make me a little nervous," she admitted. "Growing up in the streets, the motherfuckers either weren't there to help or some kid running with the wrong crowd wound up dead with a random gun in their hand that wasn't there in the first place. I got all this training, all these guns, these eddies but what if even that shit ain't enough?"

V thought back to the conversation she had with the detective last night. He didn't look like the typical cop out on the street, he actually looked more like the mercs and contacts she hung around with. He was handsome too, he had that rugged attractiveness in him and it could be that V hasn't been with a man in a while but she found herself wondering what it would be like to be held by him. She shook her head as if to shake the thoughts out of her mind. 

"This is Ward," he said curtly. "Who'm I talkin' to?"

"Name's V. Lookin' into the death of one Lucius Rhyne," V answered.

River's brow raised, "Wonder why... you're not a cop."

He's suspicious, V thought. Well he's got good reason to be anyway - random number calling him about the death of a high ranking public official, "Listen, I know you tried to warn Rhyne about the cyberpsycho."

"What else do you know?" River continued.

V scoffed, "Eh that you'd best meet with me."

After a brief pause in what V interpreted as the detective weighing his options, he nodded his head, "All right, head to Chubby Buffalo's first thing tomorrow."

"I'll be there," she replied hanging up quickly. Cops... they always made her nervous. Ever since she was a kid, ever since the _incident_.

"Incident?" Johnny asked suddenly, bringing V back into the present. 

"None of your business," she answered.

Johnny decided not to press further. It was clearly a memory she had tucked deep in her brain for him not to know what it was or feel the emotions around it. The rest of the drive was deathly quiet after that. She didn't even turn the car radio on which was usually the first thing she did. He didn't expect the tough-as-nails merc with a mouth to be so affected by a short meeting with a cop. 

'Talk about pathetic fallacy,' Johnny thought to himself as the clouds darkened and heavy rain began to fall. He couldn't figure out if the raindrops were really heavy or it's just because of how tiny the car was that seemed to amplify the sound of rain hitting metal.

"We're here," V said. "I'll park next to that pick up."

Johnny could hear her heart pounding in her chest, "Relax, V, anything happens, you'll handle it like you always do."

V nodded, silently holstering her guns. She wore a skirt today with the sole purpose of having easy access to her second gun if it came down to it, ignoring Johnny teasing her about wanting to look pretty for the handsome cop... yet here she was nervous outta her mind as it finally hit her that she wasn't meeting him through a BD or a phone, it was personal now.

"Let's get this over with," she said leaving her car. Her car greeted them as they left and she finally got a good look at the size difference between her bubble car and the pick up truck beside it. "Well shit, my car _is_ pretty tiny."

She walked into Chubby Buffalo's a little damp from the rain. She shook her arms to get the rain water off her. Good thing she wore her cowboy hat. She stopped at the door for a moment to scan the people in the restaurant looking for one River Ward in particular and finally found him near toward the other end of the restaurant sipping a cup of coffee, she guessed.

"Looks like he brought company," Johnny said in her mind. 

"Yeah well so did I," V answered.

She approached the table with her usual mercenary swagger. She was feeling uneasy but that wasn't going to deter her from doing her work. She was a professional after all. 

"Someone's here to see you, looks like," said the man sitting across River.

He was wearing sunglasses and old weathered leathers. He looked like a typical detective, one you would see in the vids.

River nodded, "Hm. Wonder what about..."

"You River Ward?" V asked him.

"In the flesh. V, right? This is my partner, Detective Han," he answered as he gestured to the man sitting across him.

"Okay. Thanks for agreeing to meet," she said.

Detective Han scoffed suddenly, "You really intend on working with a merc?" He looked her up and down. 

V's brows furrowed. She crossed her arms. Typical.

"Merc like that too. Colourful taste - cowboy hat?" Han continued. "You stick out like a sore thumb from ways away, merc."

It took everything V had not to roll her eyes at him. Whatever nervous feeling she had earlier was easily replaced with deep annoyance at the older man.

"Don't know what I intend just yet. For now, gonna see if I hear anything new about Rhyne's death," River responded.

Han shook his head, "You back on that? Boss already told you to drop it. Don't make him say it again. And if you couldn't give a rat's fat ass about any of that, heed my advice, as your friend, just let the case go."

River shrugged, "See me doin' anything? Just sittin' here, sipping coffee, listenin' to gossip." He shot V a look.

"Fine," Han sighed. "Do what you want. I'm not about to be part of this. Gotta go get my little girl anyway. And you two, go find a quieter corner. Wouldn't wanna be overheard."

The older detective stood up from his seat in the booth, shooting V a final look before walking away.

"Okay then. Talk," River said curtly. 

"Fuckin' cops," Johnny remarked. 

V slid into booth across River, "I see Detective Han's not a fan of people like me."

"Don't take it personally. Detective Han's not a fan of anybody 'cept his daughter," River said.

She finally got a better look at the man. He somehow seemed twice as big or maybe it was because she only saw him through the holo. She noticed the light reflecting on his cybernetic hand. Huh, wonder how she missed that earlier. He was attractive that's for sure but she was a professional first and foremost and she had a job to do. After the job's done, should be the last she ever sees this cop.

River noticed her silence, "You wanted to talk?"

She nodded, "Right, before the attack, you wanted to talk to Rhyne's huscle. Said you had somethin' to tell him. What was it?"

"Let me ask you first, why you stickin' your nose in this? Who hired you?"

V scoffed, "Sorry, cop, not givin' you the names of my clients."

"All right. Then I sure hope you got a lotta other leads besides me. I'm not telling you a thing," River replied sitting back in the booth. "I'm not being mean or nosy either nor is it personal. Just covering my own ass, my safety too. Need to know whose ears are listening before I talk."

"Ugh, fuck, fine," V conceded. He was the strongest lead she had and she had no other cards to play, "Workin' for Liz Peralez and her husband Jefferson Peralez."

He leaned back towards the table, "Presumed future mayor? Hah, should've seen that one coming... know what, Han was right. Acoustics in here are too good. Got my car outside."

"You in a cop car?" Johnny said. "Don't like it V."

She ignored him. She needed the info, "Okay, sure." 

The pair left the booth, V trailing behind him. This guy's tall as hell, she thought to herself.

Johnny snorted, "Got a walk to him too."

The rain had stopped in the short time they were in the restaurant.

"That's cute," River said.

V stood there confused at the sudden comment. "What?"

"The tiny car," he replied as-a-matter-of-factly. "It's cute."

"Oh, yeah, that's mine, thanks."

It was River's turn to stand confused at her response, "Huh, hah, that's... unexpected."

"I got a job to do," She said plainly. "Not here to make friends with you."

River put his hands up in the air, "All right, just tryin' to make friendly conversation."

"Like I said, not here to make friends," she insisted. "Can we just talk in your car?"

Without another word, River went around to the driver's side and gestured for V to follow him in. Who does he think he is V thought to herself. Who does he think he is trying to make friends with her, pretending like they're buddies or somethin'. 

"Some of the boys in the precinct saw Horvath shooting up dumpsters, hollering about how he's got a meeting with the mayor," River stated. 

"Horvath?" V asked after.

"Peter Horvath, cyberpsycho that tried to attack the mayor," he replied.

V made a face, "Right, so just like that you decided to warn him. What 'cause you got a good heart?"

River looked her dead in the eyes, "You make it sound like that's somethin' to be ashamed of."

"Ashamed?" she repeated. "Nah, just not somethin' you see everyday."

Especially with a cop, she added silently. And Johnny agreed.

* * *

"Come on, V," River said leaving his truck. He leaned on a lamp post by the bridge.

They arrived at Red Queen's Race. From what they gathered after speaking to River's CI and Peter Horvath's employer the club was some underground place where high ranking officials such as the mayor came to unwind away from the public's prying eyes. Now, however, it's been shut down and taken over by Animals.

"So.." V started. "This is Animal turf. Lock up any o'theirs recently?"

"Not lately, no," he answered. "But they're not big fans of pigs either."

V took the hint. Great so this is gonna be a solo mission then. What use does River have now? 

She sighed, "All right... just... be in touch."

"You find somethin', let me know," he said as he dialed her phone up. "Connection seems good."

V reached into her trench coat pocket and put on her blue visor over her eyes and secured her cowboy hat to her head, "I'll probably try to find a side door."

"Stay safe in there, V," River said suddenly. 

Unsure of how to react to the kind words, V uttered a small thank you before heading towards the building. She walked discreetly around the guard post and sure enough she found a set of stairs with an open vent small enough for her to crouch into. 

"Found a side door, small vent," V whispered.

River came up in the corner of her optics, "Animals're gettin' sloppy probably didn't care to check everything."

V worked swiftly, silently taking down some Animals and disabling security cameras. She even took some of their unopened food and snacked on a few of them.

"Are you... eating?" River asked her, popping up once again.

"Yes," she replied. "I didn't get to eat anything the whole day since you asked me to meet you first thing."

"All right, all right, s'just not what I expected."

V rolled her eyes, "Right, now shut up, I'm trying to sneak around and your holo is taken up a corner of my optics."

River did not say another word. He was taken aback by how unconventional V's methods were. He had never met a merc that acted like that. Well, he hadn't met that many mercs in the first place anyway. They usually just ended up thrown in jail or rotting in some abandoned warehouse because of a failed op.

V continued to work in silence, making it into the building in less than ten minutes. She found a secret elevator tucked away in some cargo containers, "Found an elevator, someone really wanted to cover up whatever it was that went down here."

"Try and find an office. Every joint like this got an office that's teeming with fresh info," River told her.

The merc made easy work of picking off the Animals one by one, casually pocketing a nice looking knife. She found an office where the leader of the Animal group was hanging out. V held him down in a choke hold, "Lucius Rhyne, recently deceased mayor of NC, he was here the night he died?"

The Animal leader coughed, "M-Maybe he was! M... ech!... Maybe he wasn't! No fuckin' idea! But hey, you might be here the day YOU die!"

V tightened her grip on the ganger's neck.

"Jokin'! Jokin'!" he said in between panicked breaths.

"Why you still watchin' around here? Ain't nothin' left to klep!" V growled.

He shook his head or at least tried to, "We're not watchin'! We're waiting till they send us scratch for a job well done! We smashed the place up real nicely didn't we?"

"Who'd you smash it up for?"

"Why the fuck am I gonna tell you that?" he yelled out.

V quickly thought of a believable lie, "Same fucker burned me too. Just wanted to see if we're talkin' about the same assmunch."

The Animal leader bought the story, "Weldon Holt."

Got it, V thought. She choked out the guy and laid his unconscious body down on the floor.

"I'm in an office. Gonna jack in to their system, should see what went down when Rhyne was here," V told River.

She opened a file of a surveillance recording.

"Well, well," Johnny remarked with a smirk. "Look what we have here. It's that cop's buddy boy."

"Shhh," V said. 

She watched Detective Han pacing back and forth in front of a private room she had passed on the way to the office. She heard him say the mayor was as stiff as a board and has been for an hour. For obvious reasons, the mayor didn't bring his trauma card in case something happens and Trauma Team starts banging down on the door while he's banging away. She heard Detective Han go on further to say that the official reports won't mention anything about his heart which was what Han concluded was the reason the mayor died.

V watched one of NCPD's finest drag the mayor's body out of the room.

"River, got a familiar lookin' face on this vid. Sendin' it your way now. Your choom covered up the true circumstances of Rhyne's death," She informed him.

River popped up again in the corner of her optics, "My choom? I- you mean Han?"

"What? You didn't know?" V asked stepping away from the computer. "I'm gonna take a look in the room and see what was in there."

"Shit, no... it can't..." River shook his head in disbelief.

The fuck? V thought, he not used to dirty cops or something?

"I'm gonna ping him," he continued. "Gonna tell him to meet at Chubby Buffalo's. We're headin' straight there. Let's go, V."

"Right, lemme look into the room for a quick second. Just wanna make sure we didn't miss anything," she said. She approached the doors and found the empty room filled with half-empty champagne glasses and scattered food. There was a braindance wreath sitting on the chair.

"Curious to see what he was watchin'?" Johnny asked appearing in front of her.

"Kinda," V admitted. "Also curious to see how intense this BD was to give him a heart attack." 

"V, let's go," River said from the phone.

V ignored him. She removed her blue visor and cowboy hat and put the wreath on, activating the BD. The usual bright lights flashed in her eyes.

Burning, intense pain was the next thing she felt and she couldn't help but let out a loud yelp, like a wounded animal. She felt it, wave after wave, her body convulsing, jaw and muscles tightening. She felt her fingers and toes curl up. She yelled in pain again and again. Her neurons were about to explode. It felt like forever. Her vision began to blur.

"V!" Johnny exclaimed.

"V?!"

River's voice.

"Shit, V! You okay?!" he asked, yanking the wreath off her head. He had genuine concern in his eyes as he held her arms steady as she told herself to breathe, in and out, in and out.

She felt comforted by his presence to a degree. She was still alive. Thanks to him.

"R-River...? What are you doing here...? Thought you couldn't come in here without a warrant," She asked, finally able to sit up and catch her breath. She was sweating a lot.

River moved to help her take off her trench coat. She shook off his hand.

"Didn't ask you," she told him curtly.

The detective moved away.

"Sorry..." V said removing her trench coat. "Just... cops, not my thing. Thank you for saving me."

Johnny leaned by the doorway, sunglasses on, smoking a cigarette and silently observing.

"I'm not judging you, you know," River said softly. "You're one of the more eccentric mercs I've met for sure... but I don't know, I kinda like it. I don't regret choosing to trust you. Now Han on the other hand - gotta deal with that later."

V awkwardly placed a hand on his shoulder. She wasn't very good at comforting people, something she didn't really get a chance to learn. Most of what she knew was from vids.

"We'll figure it out," V told him. She moved to stand but River stopped her. He stood up first and insisted on helping her, this time she accepted.

"Don't forget your hat, V," River told her with a small smile. "It's okay, I got it."

He helped her gather her bearings until she was stable enough to stand on her own. V didn't understand him. No cop is that kind for no reason. He must want something.

Great, now she owes him because he saved her life.

'Fuckin' cops,' V and Johnny thought simultaneously.

'Motherfuckin' cops.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Mai Mai is the name of the tiny bubble car.
> 
> Thank you everyone for all the kind comments and the kudos! I hope y'all had a great holiday celebration :)


	3. Complex

The drive back to Chubby Buffalo's was much less awkward and professional and was rather more comfortable. Perhaps it was due to him saving her life despite violating the rules, maybe it was because he took the time to help her out and make sure she was okay but she found that she had been more welcoming to the friendly conversation he had initially attempted. It seemed to distract him from the confrontation he was going to have with his partner.

It started out as small talk - usual topics like the weather, food, gangs, the sky high rate of violence in Night City were discussed but it appeared as though both of them preferred to avoid the topic of family altogether.

V never asked about people's families. Never. It was a conscious rule she adopted when she was younger. Once you ask someone about family the only polite, logical thing for the other party to do was ask about hers. That was not at all a conversation she wanted to have especially with people she knew she wasn't going to see again.

"How long you been livin' in NC?" River asked her.

"All my life," she replied simply.

He nodded in understanding and after a short pause asked her, "Ever thought about packing up and leaving?" 

"I don't know," V shrugged. "Guess I've been too busy working, trying to make somethin' outta myself to think about it."

"Right."

"What about you?" she asked.

River shook his head, "Everything in my life is here in NC. 'Sides, can't leave even if I wanted to."

V's head tilted, a gesture the detective took note of, "What does that mean? Somethin' holding you back?"

He sighed a deep sigh, "Just personal stuff."

'Trouble in paradise seems like,' Johnny remarked.

V scoffed at the comment. Night City's only a paradise if you were born with money or if you managed to claw your way to the top.

"Somethin' funny?" River asked suddenly. His face grew serious as did his tone.

'Fuck!'

She could hear Johnny laughing at her in her mind.

"No, no, I didn't mean it that way," she raised her hands in defence. "I get it. NC's always got a way of keepin' us tied down."

River didn't respond for what seemed like a long while. V could feel her heart start to race. 

'Thanks a lot, Johnny,' she scolded. 'Gettin' me in trouble with a cop!'

'I wasn't the gonk that made a noise out loud,' he said with a shrug.

The traffic light ahead turned red and the pick up halted to a stop. River caught her eyes and she dared not break eye contact. She moved her hand discreetly towards the gun holstered at her thigh. He moved in closer while she stood her ground. 

V was taken aback by the sudden smile he had on his face.

"Relax, V," he told her, moving back to his side. "Got good reflexes on you." 

He gestured at her hand. She managed to grip the gun to where she could easily turn the safety off and pull the trigger.

She let out a breath she didn't notice she was holding in.

River noticed how tense she had gotten, "Ahem, er... sorry, V." 

The light turned green.

"Just... badges," she explained.

He shot her a look, "Rather deal with gangbangers then?" 

She sat back in her seat, "I guess. They shoot me, I shoot back. Ask questions later."

River only nodded. 

The drive grew quiet after that. V took note of the scar on his forehead and wondered how she didn't notice it before. Something to ask for next time she figured.

'Next time?' Johnny repeated. 

V ignored him although she too was a little surprised at herself.

As they neared their destination, River was the first to break through the silence, "Hey, so, just wanted to thank you for the work you did today. Taking down an entire warehouse of Animals and giving me the truth... as painful as it was."

Her brows furrowed, "You're... thankin' me?"

The detective nodded, "Yeah, it was good work. Plus you managed to keep 'em alive so the guys back at the precinct will be happy to know they won't have to fight their way through to come collect."

"Gonna throw 'em in the big house huh?" 

River nodded, "That's the plan. I'll try and make sure they stay there."

V's brow raised, "Good luck with that."

They pulled up to the Chubby Buffalo's parking lot where V's Mai Mai remained surprisingly undisturbed. He parked his pick up next to her car.

"Anyway," River continued. "Well, as a show of my gratitude... was hopin' to take you out to eat. Unless, you know, the food you ate earlier in the warehouse made you full."

Johnny appeared sitting on the hood of the truck, 'Jesus fuckin' Christ, V. Is he doing what I think he's doing? Just say no and be done with it.' 

V couldn't hide the look of surprise on her face, "Oh, um, shouldn't I be the one thanking you because you saved my brain from gettin' fried?"

"Okay, so I buy you dinner, you buy me dinner and we'll call it even," River replied with a small smile. "I know you got... reservations, me bein' a cop and all, but I promise not to be Detective River Ward, NCPD. I'll just be River."

'Think I'm gonna puke,' Johnny commented from the hood.

Unsure of what to say, V gave him an awkward smile back, "Thanks, I'll, uh, think about it."

"I'll call you then," River told her. They spotted a new car pulling up to the lot. Judging by River's reaction, V figured it was his partner, "For now, gotta deal with this bullshit. Ugh, fuck."

River stepped out of the pick up and V put on her trench coat before following him. She leaned on the side of his truck with her arms crossed.

The older detective, Detective Han, lit up a cigarette, "Still hangin' around with this punk?"

"Shut it, Harold," River said cutting him off. "I know what you did. Not about to ask why you covered it up or why you even jumped into this mess to begin with. Just wanna know who you're workin' for."

Han took a long drag of his cigarette, "Why's it matter, River? Least your conscience is clean, least you can sleep at night. Ya know why? I took all the responsibility. You got no idea how this fuckin' city works. Think your goddamn inspirational idealist bullshit means something? It doesn't. It never did."

V couldn't help but glare at the older man. Even if he made a good point about Night City, he didn't have to tear River down like that.

The older man pointed his cigarette at her, "'Ey, don't look at me like that, merc. You know I'm right."

"Don't drag me into this, old man," she said frowning. "And so what, he's got a right to believe in somethin'."

"Oh please," Han scoffed. "What are you gonna do, River, gonna arrest me?"

River crossed his arms, "Got a scroll, got a motive, got your confession. So yeah, just might. Still, you don't even gotta say who you're workin' for, I already know. Since our boss' fingers are all over this too, gotta take it to Internal.

Han continued to laugh at his younger partner, "Them? They won't do a thing. Not to me. They'll have you in their sights though... we're supposed to be a family at the NCPD. You don't turn your back on family." He threw his cigarette by River's feet, "Go home, Ward. Sleep. You'll find all this easier to process in the morning."

Without another word, the older man hopped in his car and drove off.

River threw his arms at his sides. He stomped over to the railing ignoring how wet it was from the rain. He looked distraught and for once, V felt for him.

"Fuck!" he exclaimed loudly.

V leaned on the railing, standing beside him, "So, what now?"

"Won't let this go. Can't," River said through gritted teeth. "Holt murdered Rhye. Wanted his seat. Oldest, tritest motive in the book. That's why I believe it. Used the NCPD to cover his tracks."

He turned around to lean on the railing with his back. V copied him, their arms touching slightly.

"Spiked BD almost killed me so I'd say so yeah," she agreed. 

"Gonna take this to Internal Affairs. Got enough to go on," he said nodding.

V shook her head, "I don't know, River. Could be risking a lot. Han's got a point even though he was a dick about it, they'll have their eyes on you. That's how NCPD works. Lotta bad cops out there because the good ones either get killed or get put on desk duty. You might get demoted or worse."

River touched her shoulder, "Thanks for the concern, V. 'Preciate it. I just can't let this one go. I gotta do it."

She looked at his hand then back up at him, "Well, it's to the Peralezes I go then."

His hand slid off as he walked towards his pick up, "Thank you again, V. I'll call you ' bout that dinner." 

"Badge with a heart of gold?" Johnny commented. "Not somethin' you see in NC.You know, he's gonna get himself killed one day."

River waved goodbye as he hopped into his truck. V waved back.

"Shit!" V yelled out. "My hat's in his truck."

* * *

V plopped down on her bed with a heavy thud, legs dangling on the side. She groaned in pain and sighed as she stared at the ceiling.

The last time she was this sore was the first time she started training with Coach Fred.

She had been doing jobs around the city for Regina, all of them involving cyberpsychos, all of them moving fast as hell. Her body was beaten from all the hits she took from them. Everyday she found new bruises and new wounds to care for.

But V didn't complain, nobody said merc life would be easy after all.

It had been almost a week since she closed the job with the Peralezes meaning it had also been almost a week since she last saw Detective River Ward. He had yet to call her about the dinner he offered... not that she was waiting for it. 

Still, she had been meaning to call him anyway since she forgot her hat in his truck. Panam would kill her if she knew how careless she'd been. It was a gift she'd given V to signify their budding friendship, though Johnny didn't really like her. Then again, Johnny doesn't like anyone.

"Hey what do you mean, I kinda like you. Mean, you can be incredibly irritating and do-goody sometimes but I like you enough."

Speak of the devil.

"Thanks, Johnny," V replied rolling her eyes. "Glad to know you like me enough to not wanna murder me."

"Stressed?" he asked.

She sighed again, "What?"

A cigarette rolled on her stomach and down to her neck.

V threw it back at his engram, "Johnny!" 

"One day," he told her as he waved his own lit cigarette. "The shit I'm smoking ain't like the real thing and I can only get the real thing if you do it. What kind of merc doesn't smoke anyway?"

"I'm stressed, I lift weights and box or go to Wilson's shooting range," she said. She stood up, legs still feeling heavy, "Gonna shower. Can you retreat into that corner?"

Johnny simply waved her away before vanishing into what V hoped was an actual place where she could get some semblance of privacy. She swiftly removed all her clothes, haphazardly throwing them to the floor. Her body ached, all her muscles screaming out in pain. She'd have to throw her trench coat into the laundry, well actually, everything needed to be thrown into the laundry. 

The last cyberpsycho she neutralised was some lady participating in some bloody ritual. By the time V and Johnny got there, she was too bruised and battered to even care what it was all for.

She stared at her naked self in the mirror for a bit. 

"Need to go to training, need to eat," she muttered to herself.

She was starting to look thin thanks to a combination of neglecting training and food, plus the added stress that she was dying thanks to the biochip. 

Goro had called her yesterday asking to meet in two days so she can talk to one of his old Arasaka buddies but V was hesitant. Arasaka only gave her trouble.

She sighed, a thing she found herself doing more often. Everything about her appearance looked tired and worn, even all her body tats looked faded.

This was all the biochip's doing, it was quite literally mentally and physically draining her. She wasn't afraid of death, she was more afraid that she wouldn't have the time to live. Nobody gave her an exact date for her death. Everyone just told her she was being overwritten slowly but how slowly she couldn't fathom a guess.

Sometimes her vision would blur and she would cough up blood, other times she would have a nosebleed and either times she would think maybe that was it, she was gonna die right there and then.

Yet somehow the episodes fade away and she'd find that she was still alive.

The stress of suddenly dying in her sleep, being taken over by Johnny's engram without warning, made it hard for her to catch any. She even forgot the last time she just let it all go and kick back, party like the twenty-eight year old that she was. Lately she'd just been taking jobs left and right to distract herself from the inevitable. 

V stepped back from the mirror and hopped into the shower. She turned the heat up, steam soon filling the room. A good amount of blood flowed down her body and she removed her bandages.

She threw them in a pile to the side and closed her eyes then put both hands up on the wall.

"Son of a bitch," she let out. "Why can't I cry?"

The sound of her phone ringing took her out of her solitude.

'River,' she thought.

She opened her eyes and in her optics saw that it wasn't River but Regina yet again. God, she was the most persistent fixer. Worse than Wakako sometimes.

V accepted the call and Regina appeared at the corner of her optics, "Hey, V. Catch you at a bad time?"

The merc shook her head, "Just about to jump out the shower. 'Nother job for me?"

"Aaron McCarlson, NCPD sergeant," Regina answered. "He's an old buddy of mine. We worked on this cop show for eight seasons. Anyway, he's cashing in on a favour and wants you to steal some CCTV footage from a Maelstrom warehouse. He's been digging into this warehouse for a while now and found that they tortured people in there. You know how it is for badges, paperwork slows them down so if they want something done they have to get creative."

V took her towel and quickly patted herself dry ignoring the bloodstains from her wounds. This was the last job she was gonna take from Regina for the next two weeks, "On my way then."

"He asked for you specifically," Regina added. "Said you came recommended."

She dug through her first aid kit for a fresh set of gauze and bandages, "Really? In the NCPD? By whom?"

Regina shrugged, "I don't know but you could ask him yourself when you hand over the footage."

V nodded, "Yeah you read my mind. All right then I'm goin'."

* * *

It was an easier job than what V initially expected. She chalked it up to luck and the Maelstromers being ultra-chromed gonks but she wasn't gonna say shit about it. She was in and out in no time and found herself at the door of the NCPD sergeant. 

"Who is it?" a gruff voice asked from behind the door.

"It's V."

The door opened to a big man, he had a huge, wide jaw and was built like a truck. V thought she'd seen him a million times out on the street. Why does the NCPD keep hiring all these lookalikes?

"V!" he said happily. "Hope you didn't run into too much trouble. Got the footage?"

"Yup," she transferred the data to him. Typical badge, don't even have the decency to say thank you. "Hey, so who recommended me?"

Aaron touched his chin as tried to remember, "I was askin' this guy, bit rude if you ask me, if he knew any contractors. That's what we call mercs like yourself. Anyway, I figured maybe he'd know someone since he looked the type. He was a mean lookin' dude, like he'd seen some shit. Yeah so first he tried to shoo me away because he was workin' to talk to some other guy about reopening some case but I got the info outta him anyway. He said this lady by the name of V, that's you, she does good work. Then I asked him how he knew and he rudely told me to trust him and told me to go away."

"God, he talks so fuckin' much," Johnny said appearing next to V.

"That it?" V asked. She knew exactly who he was talking about.

The sergeant nodded, "Yeah and hey I'll recommend you to the others too. This is preem work."

She held up her hand as if to stop him, "S'all good, don't really like to work with badges that much."

He looked puzzled but conceded anyway. They said their goodbyes and V walked back to her Mai Mai waiting outside the building.

"Looks like you got a fan," Johnny teased. 

V felt her blood boil, "He's recommending me to people? The fuck? He knows I don't like working with people like him."

She dialed him up as she opened the door to her car.

River appeared in her optics, "Hey, V. If you're calling about dinner, I just got some shit I've been working on, s'why I haven't been able to call but I promise you I didn't forget. Also-"

"You're recommending me to your buddies?!" She asked, cutting him off. "You lost your mind?"

He seemed surprised at the sudden attack, "I- well, yeah. Just the one if I'm not mistaken. You were the first person I thought of."

"Yeah, great, thanks," she replied sarcastically. "So you're telling everyone about your new merc buddy and giving my name out like candy to a bunch of fuckin' cops."

River frowned, "Look, I just recommended you to the one guy. Aaron McCarlson right? He caught me at a bad time. And NCPD works with mercenaries sometimes too, it's a known practice. You guys have access to stuff we don't, you guys get the job done. I don't underst-"

"Understand this, pig - I. don't. like. working. with. badges. Got it?" she hissed at him.

"Christ, V," the detective's frown deepened. "I thought we were good. I'm sorry for thinking that way then. Next time I'll just not think of you."

"Good! Then we have nothing else to say to each other, goodbye!"

V abruptly hung up the call. She couldn't believe it.

Just who the hell does he think he is?

Then she remembered.

"Fuuuuck!" she yelled as she punched her steering wheel. "My fuckin' hat!"

She dialed the detective back up.

"V? I thought-"

"My hat," she said simply. There was still some venom in her tone. "Want it back."

River smirked, "Thought you don't work with pigs? 'Sides I like it. It suits me."

"Shut. up. Just give it back," she told him. It took all her might not to have an outburst.

"You want it? Come meet me at Tom's Diner then. Know the place?" he asked as he put on the said cowboy hat.

V felt her head almost explode, "Oh I know exactly where it is. Say no more."

She hung up the call and drove out into the street carelessly. 

"V, now I don't like cops as much as the next guy," Johnny began. "But we need to keep a clear head here. Detectives aren't like the usual beat cops, more paperwork goes into their incident reports."

V shot him a look, "Fuckin' hell, Johnny, I'm not gonna flatline the man. I just want my hat back and him out of my life forever."

"All right, all right," he said defensively. "Just makin' sure."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, just so many thanks to all the support this fic has received!
> 
> Not really sure how phones work in 2077 so I'm taking the liberty of it still being a handheld device but also wireless like when you wanna go hands-free you can do that but when you wanna connect it to your optics you can do that too lol. 
> 
> I'll do my best to keep the updates regular and I appreciate all the positive feedback <3
> 
> See y'all in the next one! :)


	4. Propositions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took longer than usual! It was the holidays hehe. Thank you for waiting!

River fixed the lapel of his coat. Then he fixed the way his coffee cup was placed on the table. Then he fixed the salt and pepper shakers on the table.

None of them were out of place or anything, he just needed something to do with hands.

Since arriving at Tom's Diner twenty minutes ago, he'd been restless and fidgety. The conversation he had with V went in the worst way possible and if it weren't for the prized cowboy hat, they would have most likely parted ways for good. It wasn't as if he did anything so grave... at least by his standards. Aaron wouldn't leave him alone, caught him at a bad time, but she wouldn't listen.

Well, in truth, even if Aaron had asked him when he wasn't busy, he probably would've recommended her anyway. He was impressed at her finesse and found her eccentricity charming or maybe it was just because he hadn't met that many people in her line of work. He stared down at the hat sitting comfortably beside him, it was a little gaudy for his taste. Golden synth-snakeskin.

Who still wears stuff like that? It wasn't 2030 anymore last he'd checked.

No... he thought, to him V was in a league of her own. 

His cop intuition told him she had a good heart despite everything and that was rare in Night City. He didn't want them to part ways for good, he needed her. 

River looked around. There were only a few people in the diner, some trying to cure their drunkenness through coffee and some catching a late dinner.

"Where is she?" he mumbled under his breath.

It was late at night, there shouldn't be that many cars out.

He continued to fidget.

Finally a familiar face entered the diner - or rather stomped into the diner. She had on a near all-green ensemble, green yoro pants with golden stitching running down the sides, purple bustier under what looked like a green combat vest and dark green boots. She really wasn't one to shy away from making a fashion statement.

He also noticed the bandages wrapped around her arms and even around her torso. From where he was sitting, he even spotted some large bruises. She looked like she had just come home from the war, apt given the outfit she was wearing.

V's head slowly scanned the room, he presumed, to search for him amongst the others.

He met her eyes, her long, messy dark hair framing them. They were Kiroshi implants, that much he could tell. Top shelf. She'd chosen a black and white design. Her sclera was black while an outline of her pupils were white.

If the kids were here right now, they'd tell Uncle River that she looked like one of those bounty hunters from the vids. They'd probably be asking her to show them her guns. Maybe even ask for a ride in her Mai Mai?

Everything about V was peculiar, unpredictable, she _seemed_ dangerous even. But from the short-lived interactions they had, he trusted in his judgement and he knew she was a nice, caring person underneath her hard exterior. No stone cold killer would drive a Mai Mai.

She made her way over to him, a scowl plastered on her face. River steeled himself for what was to come.

"Hat... _please_ ," she said as she approached the table, gritting her teeth at the last word.

"Hello, V," River responded with a smile. It was a genuine one but she didn't seem to think so.

She sat across from him, it even looked like she made room for one more person, but he didn't see anyone else come in with her.

Strange.

"Just give me the damn hat, asshole," she pressed, her tone increasingly becoming more aggressive.

He put up his right cybernetic hand defensively, "I promise you, you will get the hat. I just wanted to-"

"Hey, V, ain't seen you in a while. What can I get ya?"

River noticed V's eyes change as she looked up at the waitress. The scowl on her face disappeared and was easily replaced with a kinder, more gentler gaze.

"Thanks, Lori," she said with a small smile. "Just the usual for me, thanks."

Lori jotted down her order, "Remind me again, was that synth-sausages or synth-beef?"

"Eh, make it both," she replied side-eyeing the detective. "Might, need the extra energy for somethin'. Thanks."

"And for you? Just coffee again?" she turned to River.

He shook his head, "I'm good for now, thank you."

As soon as Lori left, V leaned on the table. Her expression hardened again, "You chose the wrong place, choom. I grew up in this area. Live in this area. Let me tell you one thing, we don't like badges coming in here, walkin' around like they can fuck around with us."

Undeterred, River also leaned on the table. Their faces were merely inches apart. He could see the tiny scars and blemishes on her face. Her optics made her look so otherworldly. If he was supposed to feel fear, he felt none, "Well I'm not lookin' to fuck around with you. You'll get your hat back, I swear. I just need somethin' from you."

She frowned as she stuck her nose up at him, "The fuck you need from me? I already helped you clear out that Animal warehouse, you got the info you needed. Just 'cause I was nice to you, you think you can ask shit from me?"

"Look, I know you're upset with me," he began.

"Oh really? What gave it away?" she mocked.

River sighed, "I'm sorry. He caught me at a bad time, I was trying to get a case reopened. Figured it was worth one last shot."

V snorted as she leaned back into her seat, "I really do not care, whatever story you got rehearsed in your brain, I don't care. I'm not helping you again. I'm shocked you're even still in the NCPD, your dickhead partner was right, you know. They would've set their sights on you. You're not demoted or anything?"

The detective was at a loss. He didn't think it would be this difficult nor was he willing to answer that question. Maybe he was wrong, maybe his cop intuition failed him this time. He seemed to be failing a lot of people these days.

"All right, all right," he said in defeat. "Clearly, what I did was unforgivable to you. I didn't know your hatred of cops went that far. I just thought-"

"Thought what? That we're friends? You saved my life, thank you, now I just want you out of it."

Ouch.

That one hurt.

Perhaps he wasn't able to properly conceal how that statement made him feel for when he glanced at V, she suddenly couldn't meet his eyes. He couldn't deny his disappointment - she was his last hope but it looked like he was going to have to find a way to do it himself.

V spoke suddenly, her tone softer, "Look I got a lot on my plate. You wouldn't understand it - nobody does. Hell, I don't. I'll help you set up whatever job you got with a fixer, I'll even call up some work chooms but that's it." 

He stared at her blankly. She's got a conscience. So maybe he was right after all.

"I'll give you your hat back and I'll leave you alone but I need _your_ help," he said after giving it some thought. "Remember the personal stuff I mentioned in the car? I don't know anyone else I can trust. You're right, they've got eyes on me in the NCPD and I don't know that many mercs in the city that's got your skillset. I'll even pay you if that's what it takes. I want _you_."

Her head tilted to the side. That seemed to catch her attention.

"Lemme get this straight," she started, finally meeting his eyes again. "I help you with one thing and that's it? You won't bother me again? Plus I get eddies?"

River nodded, "And you'll get your hat back."

"Here ya are, V," Lori said laying down a plate of hot food in front of her and a mug full of chocolate syn-milk. "D'ya want the beer now too or after?"

"Know what?" V said suddenly smiling, "I'll have the beer now. Thanks, Lori."

The waitress laid down the beer and opened the bottle for V, "Enjoy and remember, it's not a race."

"Thank yoooou," the merc replied.

River couldn't help but stare. He was puzzled. He couldn't quite understand her. One moment she's cold as ice, next she's a ray of sunshine. What is with this woman?

"I don't want your money," she said with a mouth full of food. "Just the other shit. Actually, know what, you can pay the bill for this one. I help you, we'll call it even for saving my life. Deal?"

She stretched out her hand.

"Deal," he replied, taking it. Her hand was rough and calloused just like his.

"And don't go recommending me to your NCPD buddies," she added. "I don't want badges calling me up at night askin' for a contractor. Rather not be on NCPD's radar like you."

The detective chuckled, "Trust me, those guys won't be botherin' you anymore."

"Right then," she moved the beer towards him. "For you."

He looked at her quizzically. 

V gestured for him to take the bottle, "Just drink it, I'm not going to. Totally forgot what my usual was, forgot it had beer. Swore off drinking couple weeks back. Need a clear head on me at all times I realised. Take it as a sign of our temporary partnership."

"All right," he said. "To our temporary partnership."

She raised her mug with a smile, their drinks clinking, "To our temporary partnership."

River couldn't help but chuckle. She was a charming one for sure. He figured this was the best deal he was going to get out of her and he wasn't about to complain about it. He was sure she would be serving his head on a platter by now but his judgement of her was right. She had a heart.

Still, he found himself looking forward to working with her. Someone like her, with her skillset, seeing what she did for the Peralezes, he was certain they'd uncover something new. 

He could finally face Joss after all this time.

And for once, River allowed himself to have hope, something that was hard to come by in Night City.

"I got somethin' lined up day after tomorrow," V informed him. She was about done with her plate. He now understood why Lori said what she said. "But whatever you got goin' on, I'll make time for it."

"No worries. I need to gather some materials and intel anyway." he told her. "You gonna be okay?"

"What do you mean?"

He pointed to all the bandages wrapped around her arms, "You look like you seen better days."

V rolled her eyes, "S'nothing. I've had worse, trust me. Do have worse," she muttered the last one to herself. "Don't worry, I'll be performing at a high level like always. No offence but lookin' forward to not having _any_ cop involvement in my life."

River didn't say anything about the statement she made. He didn't know what else to say. Clearly she doesn't like him. Whatever happened to her in her past must have been traumatising for her to dislike cops as much as she does now. It's the only explanation.

He would know. He went through some dark shit too.

Still, he would've liked to introduce her to his niece and nephew. She looked just like the people in the vids, he'd even go so far as to say she looked like she could be a Night City legend, a Solo like Morgan Blackhand.

Soon he found himself admiring her. He found her alluring. 

His eyes travelled down to her lips as she drank, her dark red lipstick staining the rim of the mug. She bit her lip often and sucked her teeth a lot. 

V seemed to catch him staring at her but said nothing.

River looked away in an instant, taking a quick awkward sip of his now cold coffee. He wasn't going to deny that he felt something stirring within him. An attraction maybe?

But, he figured, it was best to keep it in check.

It wouldn't work out anyway.

* * *

"Can't believe you let a badge talk you into a gonk deal like that. And you refused the eddies too."

V rolled her eyes, "I don't want his eddies. I want him out of my life as soon as possible."

She and Johnny both sat on the curb waiting for the detective to arrive. He had told her to wait at Glen at 1500 and it was already thirty minutes passed that.

"Not very punctual for a cop," Johnny remarked.

V agreed this time. 

Her meeting with Goro and his contact was a bust. The Oda guy was another Arasaka corpocunt that didn't have the balls to face the truth of what happened to Saburo the night of their heist. She had tried to appeal to his sense of duty to the emperor and his family but even that tactic didn't seem to work. He'd even threatened to kill her at one point if he ever saw her again. On the bright side, Wakako came through with her intel which Goro greatly appreciated.

She was supposed to expect a call from him tomorrow or the day after. 

Her to-do list was finally getting shorter. She finally tracked down Hellman and left him with Goro and now she was on track to meeting the emperor's daughter, of course only if she and Goro were able to pull off their plan, whatever that was anyway. 

She still needed to pay Clouds a visit to try and track down Evelyn.

V felt her chest tighten. Her breathing suddenly shallowed.

Another relic malfunction?

Her mind started spinning as she thought of all the work she still needed to do that she kept putting off. It was futile especially in the face of death. Johnny's engram may be slowly taking over but it's something she will be powerless to stop if she didn't do the work she needed to do.

All the more reason to rid herself of the badge as soon as possible.

She continued to watch the people passing by. Everyone seemed to be lost in a world of their own. Some had red optics, probably watching a vid while walking or maybe talking to someone on the holo. Night City may have the highest crime rate in the country but that doesn't mean the city doesn't have its little moments of peace. Well, closer to the city centre at least. Northside and Pacifica are a whole nother beast of their own. 

Heywood and Watson may have their fair share of problems but she grew up in these streets and it was home to her and her friends. These buildings, the gangs, the sex and violence... it was all they knew. She and Jackie never knew another life aside from this. 

The fuckin' major leagues. 

That was all they had.

"You talk to Mama Welles lately?"

V glanced at Johnny. She wasn't expecting him to ask her a question like that, "Uh, haven't actually. Been a while."

The Rockerboy took a drag of his cigarette, "Wouldn't hurt to check in on your choom's mom. And don't give me that look, I had friends I cared for too before 'Saka got to me."

"Hah, yeah, I know," V said. "I saw your memories - insults and name calling. Weird way to show your friends how much you cared for 'em. They hated you. Well that's what you think at least."

Johnny didn't have the opportunity to respond as River's Thorton pickup pulled up to where they were sitting.

V walked over to the passenger side and hopped in.

"Hey V," River greeted solemnly. 

She tilted her head. She hadn't seen him this serious, even when he found out his partner was responsible for covering up the mayor's death. There goes her initial plan of scolding him for being late. And she figured it was only polite to ask him if he was okay, "How ya holdin' up?"

"Been better," he answered in the same tone he had. "You can prolly tell."

"Not in a chatty mood I see," V said.

River looked out into his car window, "Not really. Sorry."

V wasn't used to this River. She was more used to the upbeat, stubborn, can-do detective River Ward. It was a new side of him she hadn't seen before.

"So, what happened?" she asked with genuine concern.

He could barely glance at her as he kept staring out the window, "Needed someone to talk to. First, take a look."

His eyes glowed blue and V saw in her optics that he had sent her a video file. It was a scroll of the WNS news report about how a routine NCPD inspection led to the trail of one of Night City's many serial killers.

She watched the recording silently, making note of any detail that might be useful.

The police footage showed two officers confronting the serial killer in his parked car. One of the officers opened the passenger side door and what looked to be a lifeless body of a boy tumbled out onto the road clumsily while the killer panicked and tried to run only to be shot by the other officer multiple times.

According to the report, the boy, LeVar Martinez, was reported missing a month prior by his parents. The autopsy of his body revealed that he had died from septic shock caused by large doses of growth hormones, anabolic steroids and stimulants.

The police had even found personal items and genetic traces of seven other teenagers that were reported missing. All abducted by one Anthony Harris or Peter Pan as he was known due to the nature of his crimes, who remained alive but unresponsive, unable to respond to any sort of interrogation. 

"This Peter Pan case - it yours? or an old case?" V asked as the recording ended.

He shook his head, "Never heard of it. Not once did it cross my desk."

"So that case you were lookin' to reopen, if it's not the Peter Pan case then what is it?" she continued.

River looked down at his hands before they balled into tight fists, "My nephew Randy disappeared not long past. What you saw - the kid was wearin' Randy's shoes."

The pieces clicked into place for V. She now understood why he was adamant about asking her for help, even understood why he mindlessly recommended her to Aaron. It was a family matter. 

Kidnapped. Tortured probably if the LeVar kid was.

It hit all too close to home for V.

Flashbacks of a memory she buried deep within herself came rushing in like a tsunami and she was powerless to stop it all.

"I'll help you," she said. "Whatever you need from me... I'll help you."

River made note of the change in her tone of voice. It was more serious, it held more weight. He appreciated her offer.

"Thanks, V. Knew I made the right choice," he told her, touching her hand gently.

She looked down at his hand over hers briefly before pulling away, "Know anything else about Randy's disappearance?"

"My sister and I don't get along that well, don't know much. Just wish I coulda been there for her when she needed it most," he replied. He leaned his elbow on his window and stared out onto the street again. "Reason I needed you here aside from your skillset is because I need an objective eye. 'Most everyone I know is NCPD. I can't touch Randy's case, can't go near it, like I've been filed a restraining order."

V nodded as she took in the details, "I see. So if not you, then who's been handling the case?"

River scoffed, "Gonaghal took lead - lazy ass gonk. He called it a cold case. Ain't even accomplished shit."

"You got a personal stake in this, I get it," V said. "But if I were you, I wouldn't let this go. 'Specially if you got a lead like this."

"Really, V, can't tell you how much I appreciate you being here," he replied with a small smile. "Can't interrogate this Anthony guy 'cause he's a veg but we can view his dreams."

Her brow raised, "Dreams, you say?"

The detective opened his car door and hopped out, "Come on, I'll explain on the way."

V followed suit.

"It's an experimental procedure but already yielding results," he told her as they walked along the sidewalk. "They record dreams that can be played back as BDs. Lab's close by, why I asked you to meet around here."

"Got access to these dreams? or an appointment at this lab at least?" V asked. They crossed the intersection together, River ahead of her by a few steps. She was almost at the sidewalk before she felt River's hand gently grab, pulling her towards him. "Hey! What gives?"

A loud honk of a horn from a fancy looking sports car almost deafened her ears as it passed, the driver speeding up to at least seventy kilometres per hour.

"Fuckin' gonk didn't stop for the light," River frowned. "You okay?"

He noticed how close they were to each other. Their bodies touching and their faces merely a few centimetres apart. He felt his breath hitch in his throat. She was beautiful, he thought to himself.

"River... my arms, the bandages," she said softly. 

He immediately let go of her, scratching the back of his neck and stepping away, "Sorry."

"Thanks," she chuckled awkwardly. "You got good reflexes on you too."

She smiled at him, a toothy grin.

River realised this was the first time she smiled and one that was directed at him. He started wondering what other ways he could make her smile like that.

'Keep it together, Ward,' he reminded himself. That's right, their partnership was only temporary. He couldn't let himself grow an attraction towards her. He was probably just feeling this way because he hasn't been with a woman in a long time. His work, his nephew, his sister, the city... he was too busy to be looking for anything meaningful. Not to mention the fact that she didn't like him.

Focus.

Gotta focus on his duty to his family first before anything.

She'd given him hope and with her by his side, even if it was just for a brief period of time, he finally had the best chance he was ever going to have at bringing his family together.

And for that, he was grateful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys have an amazing 2021. I am manifesting only good positive things this year :)


	5. Tension

"Jesus, V. You really went through that shit?"

V and Johnny had broken off from River after they broke into the lab that kept the experimental dream scrolls of the Peter Pan serial killer. River suggested they split up in order to have a better chance at quickly finding what they were looking for. V searched through the filing cabinets with her Kiroshi optics, briefly scanning the mysterious pod baby with "BB" labelled onto it.

"You saw all that?" she asked Johnny, closing the filing cabinet she was searching. "This room's a bust."

She tried to make it seem like she wasn't affected by another person knowing what she went through. Even if he was an engram. She silently moved to the next room. It looked like a typical kids room, decorated with flowers and drawings on the wall. Toys were scattered about and retro arcade machines lined the side of one wall. Old comic books and novels from what looked like the 2040s took up a corner of the room by the door. Two lab beds and an observation mirror were situated on the far side of the room.

"No wonder you volunteered yourself to help boy in blue," he said leaning by the door. "But weren't cops involved in what happened to your family?"

V slammed the cabinet shut. It made a loud banging noise. She turned to search the other cabinet nearby, "I'm doin' it for his family. Not him."

"V?" River came rushing into the room with a worried look on his face. He looked around trying to see if anything was amiss, "You okay? Heard a loud noise."

"Yeah," she let out with a heavy sigh. "Still just... searching."

River's brow raised, "You sure?" 

She merely nodded before returning to her search.

He could sense that something wasn't right with her. She seemed fine earlier, more talkative and she had even smiled. Call it his cop intuition again but he felt that she was withholding some information from him. He debated asking her about it but thought it best she come out with it on her own. She didn't seem like the type that liked to be pressured into giving up information which he deduced from his earlier interactions with her. It seemed to make her act more distrustful and more hostile. Whatever it was she was holding in, he trusted she would tell him in due time.

"Found it!" she exclaimed suddenly. "Thank you, Kiroshi."

The older man noted her immediate change in tone and attitude. From what he learned during his schooling and training, she was probably masking, covering up her true feelings. He still didn't know what it was but his curiosity grew.

She went to open the filing cabinet flipping through medical records to look for Anthony Harris' files, "Say, River, why not just ask a janitor to crack open the door for you? Did we really have to climb through the window like a bunch of petty thieves?"

"Can't risk gettin' scolded for sniffing 'round somebody else's case," he replied, helping her dig through the files for the dream scrolls.

"River?!"

Uh oh. 

V immediately shut the filing cabinet at the sound of a new voice, her head quickly snapping up to see who it had come from. Johnny moved from his place at the door to the coffee table nearby. He seemed equally surprised.

It was a woman dressed in what looked like a uniform for the lab. She had on red tech goggles.

"What are you doing here?" she continued. "Weren't you kicked off the force?"

V and Johnny exchanged looks. 

'Well, well, well," Johnny began. 'Can't say we both didn't see this one coming. Night City always wins.'

River glanced at V then at the woman, "Just suspended actually."

V figured she would press River about it later. For now, they needed the scrolls and they need to get the fuck out of there.

"And who might you be?" the merc asked.

The woman ignored her and with a huff turned to walk out the door, "I'm calling the actual police."

"W-wait! Wait," the former detective pleaded. "Just hear me out... please."

She turned back to River, "Seriously? As if you weren't in enough trouble already?"

"Harris kidnapped my nephew," he said. 

V could tell he was trying not to panic. This could jeopardize the entire case and seriously limit their chances at saving Randy.

"We're talking about a young boy here, a child, fuck protocols!" V yelled out. "Can't leave without those Peter Pan scrolls. You work with badges, right? You know what they're like. Feed 'em analysis, they'll shit out failure."

The woman shook her head, unwilling to cooperate, "This type of thinking is exactly why we live in this lawless society."

River scoffed as he crossed his arms, "Lawless? Remember your first med school exam? The one you passed with flying colours. The ladies' room erupted in flame, they evacuated everybody for two hours."

That seemed to agitate the lady. She pointed a finger at River and her face distorted into a scowl, "I cannot believe you would throw that in my face! I never want to see your face ever again! Listen to me well," she turned to V. "This man only takes! He takes and takes and never gives anything back!"

V shrugged, "Dunno, River and I get along. Can even say we're friends, I think."

'Friends?' Johnny echoed from the coffee table. 

Even River seemed to be surprised at what she just said but it bolstered his confidence and V could see he had a growing smile on his face.

"Friends? Hah! I thought us friends too!" the lady said bitterly. 

"Harris' dream BDs," River cut in. "Where are they?"

She sighed before trudging out of the room. River followed and gestured for V to do the same. Johnny stayed put at the coffee table, lying down it now, smoking a cigarette.

"He isn't dreaming," she said as she made her way into the next room where the observation mirror had been placed. The room had scattered documents and boxes along one corner. "A bullet damaged his cerebral cortex. We get only dissonant urges, pieces."

V could see Johnny in the room through the glass. He was humming to himself, tapping his foot. It was an old Samurai song, one she heard many times because she insisted on annoying Johnny by acting as a die-hard fan. Her plan backfired on her, however, as she went from ironically listening to Samurai to unironically secretly enjoying their music. 

Johnny may have been an anti-corp Rockerboy extremist but he was damn talented at shredding the guitar.

River and the woman bickered for a bit, arguing over the logistics of trying to stimulate Harris' brain through hypothalamus activation and the like. V was surprised at the amount of knowledge River seemed to have and was impressed. He did his homework the last two days. 

V chipped in on the conversation here and there but she couldn't get a word in. She tried offering her services, the skills River sought her out for but it was clear both parties were too emotionally riled up.

In the end, the woman gave the scrolls to River and without missing a beat, the older man turned heel, "Let's ride, V."

V continued to stare at Johnny. Maybe this lady would know something about her situation. She was quite literally dying to know anything about the biochip since her life was on the line.

"Say, by the way, what do you know about biochips? Arasaka's Relic in particular?"

The woman contemplated for a short while, "Well, it's designed to store a person's neural engram... sorry, just imagine copying a person's memories and personality."

"V!" she heard River calling after her from the hallway.

She ignored him, "Psh, I get that. More curious what happens if the stored engram overwrites the engram of the chip carrier."

"Overwrites? I'm not entirely sure that's possible," the woman replied. "Why do you ask?"

Ugh. Another dead end.

"Right, well, thanks anyway," V said as she walked out of the room. She expected River to be there but it looks like he went ahead. 

V used the front entrance that the woman had unlocked for them.

Johnny appeared at the entrance. He had a frown on his face and his arms were crossed.

"Cop seems to like you. Could be this one's sniffin' around for somethin' extra," he pointed out as if trying to agitate V. He waited for her reaction.

"River? Like I said, doin' this for the kid and the kid's family, River just happens to be part of that family," V answered in as monotone a voice as she could. "'Sides after this, we made a deal, remember? He's gone from my life."

"Uh huh."

V rolled her eyes, "Can tell you got somethin' you wanna say, just say it."

The Rockerboy put a hand on his chest as if to act innocent, "Me? Nooo, but this River could be flyin' straight to your pants. If I recall, you guys are friends now. Wasn't it just a few days ago you wanted to rip his throat out?"

"Quite the observation on human behaviour comin' from a stack of data in my fuckin' head," she quipped. "Only said that shit so that lady would get off our backs. Cops are cops."

"Riiiight but he's not anymore," Johnny said still unconvinced. "You know, it'd be easier to lie if I couldn't read your thoughts or feel your emotions. You still think he's an attractive piece of ass."

V frowned at him, "Whatever, asshole. He's only suspended. May not be active duty but he's still a cop. Once a badge, always a badge. Don't fuck with badges. You seen the shit they did to me."

He only shrugged. He clearly disagreed with her.

Yeah right, as if she'd let a cop touch her and hold her in that way. Attractive or not, he went through all that police training and those NCPD values were instilled in him. Still, V couldn't deny that he wasn't the typical meathead out on the street, he actually seemed to have better morals. Actually seemed like he wanted to use his badge for good.

V didn't know whether to admire his efforts or take pity in him. Pure hearts are rarely ever rewarded in Night City. If anything, they just lead to an early grave.

She didn't say anything more except raised her middle finger at Johnny, a gesture he reciprocated with a grin. She made her way back to where River parked his pickup this time being extra vigilant of the cars on the street. 

She found him waiting by the passenger side door.

"Had to run ahead, V. Didn't wanna stay in there too long," he said apologetically. He opened the door for her, waiting for her to climb in.

'Oh look, V, he's a gentleman too. Try to keep your pants on,' Johnny teased, appearing beside River. 

V couldn't hide the scowl on her face.

"Somethin' wrong?" River asked, concerned whether he'd done something to upset her again.

She climbed into the truck, "T-thanks, it's nothing about you."

River followed suit. He climbed into the driver's side and took off immediately.

"Okay," he began after a while. "Let me have it."

V kept her eyes on him, "So, got booted off the force huh, suspended or did you actually get fired?"

"Ugh, suspended. Mayor's death stank to high heaven. Inquest swept under the rug. So I made a fuss," he told her with a small smile.

She didn't know what else to say. She may have been a skilled merc and skilled netrunner but if you asked her to comfort a person in their time of need she wouldn't know what to say. But, she figured, she should try anyway, "D-do you, uh, wanna talk about it?"

"Nope," River replied instantly. He quickly glanced at her then back on the road. "It's just... not easy for me to talk about what's bitin' at my ass."

V nodded, "I hear that."

River nodded with her, "Yeah, I know. But, hey, you're not too bad with trying to make me feel better. Thanks for askin', V, and thanks for being here to help me. My sister, Joss, she'll appreciate it too."

That's weird. Was she really good at that? V never thought herself an expert, she just copied what she saw in the vids, copied what she saw in Jackie. If anything, he was her biggest teacher when it comes to helping friends and being there for them in their time of need. 

She looked at River. 

Maybe he wasn't so bad. His tenacity at trying to do the good thing was admirable, V had to admit, but he was still part of the system that tore her family apart. Still part of the system that forced her to become a mercenary. 

But it wasn't as if he knew that. She kept that secret to herself. Only Jackie knew and she only told him because they ran a lot of missions together, built that unbreakable trust. Now that he was gone, the only other one that knew was Johnny.

Even so, she had to stick with what she knew. After they were done, that would be it.

He caught her staring at him.

"Like the view?" he asked playfully.

V immediately looked away unaware of how red her face had gotten. She bit her lip. Her heart raced.

Stupid cop, stupid handsome cop.

She needed to get laid and she needed it fast.

"Think your friend will toe the line, rat you out?" she asked, trying to divert the subject.

He shook his head, "Nah, not that I'd use it but Yawen's got a skeleton in her closet I know she'd rather keep. These little tifs of ours always end the same way. I'll tell you about it over a beer sometime."

"Sometime?" V echoed. "Ain't we agreed this was a one time thing?"

It was River's turn to go beet red, "Well, I just thought, since you said we were friends and all... ahem... I don't know, thought maybe you changed your mind about the deal."

"I mean... er..."

V didn't know what else to say. She was conflicted. He wasn't the kind of people she allied herself with. She knew gangs and fixers. Hell, she even knew more nomads. That was her crowd - his was on the other side, the ones actively trying to keep them down.

"Hey," he said with a small smile. "Don't sweat it. I understand. I'm a cop. Not your thing."

"Y-yeah," was all she replied.

River turned away, V not seeing the way his face dipped into a frown. He respected her decision and he understood her hesitancy. He knew people like her, the ones who grew up on the streets of Night City had an aversion to people like him. From his training, he figured hers was probably deeper than just an aversion. For her to have acted the way she did a few days ago, something caused her to be like this. 

He knew all too well what trauma can do to a person. He ended up becoming a cop in the first place because of his.

Yet, he couldn't deny his disappointment. He thought for sure they made progress. He liked her. He was attracted to her. And he wanted to get to know her better.

When she mentioned they were friends, he was elated, but he guessed, she probably only said that to get Yawen off their backs. That's when he made the leap in thinking maybe she had changed her mind about him, though looks like he was wrong about that.

However much time they got left working together, he'll take it. You don't come across people like V everyday. At least now he could tell Joss the truth.

Friend or not, he was just glad he had V by his side.

* * *

The pair arrived at the Trailer Park at sundown. The sun barely peeked through the desert plains and soon enough the sky would fully darken. It was quiet out here, V thought. She hadn't been out of the city borders since tracking down Hellman. She wondered how Panam was doing, swiftly remembering she had gotten a text from her the other day asking for her help. V made a quick mental note to call her as soon as she had the time.

She liked Panam, they were both hotheaded women who understood each other. She supported Panam's vengeance quest and Panam supported her hunt for Hellman even when it'd cost the life of her friend Scorpion and endangered Mitch's.

Plus, V didn't want to admit, she found that she felt somewhat jealous of her. She had a family, though not blood-related, she still had a family, a community that cared for her. Even if she was out of the Aldecaldos, she was still welcome to come back and she still took care of them as they did her.

V wondered what it would be like. She considered Jackie a brother but now that he wasn't here, she practically had no-one. She raised herself for pretty much her entire life. Her only sense of community had been built up through working with Padre Ibarra and briefly living with the Welles. Though even that didn't last long. 

She wondered what it would be like to have a family she could come back to, a family she knew would be there even if she hadn't been around for a bit. 

"You doin' okay, V?" 

She looked to River. Why was he always so interested in asking her if she was okay? It's not like they were even close. 

Still, she didn't want to be needlessly rude to him. She already was a few days ago anyway and he wasn't the worst she had ever encountered.

"Yeah, s'all good. Let's go," she said, hopping out of the pickup.

River followed closely. They both walked towards the trailer at the far side of the street. As they neared, Johnny appeared on the steps, sitting on the top.

"Lovely neighbourhood. Mwah." he remarked, kissing the tips of his fingers.

V and River walked past him and into the small building. To their immediate right was an aquarium and to the left was a small dining room.

River took lead this time, heading straight for the kitchen.

An older woman stood by the counter. Joss probably, V thought.

"River..." she began. Her tone was a bit more on the aggressive side. "You either got business with me or news about Randy. Wouldn't drag your butt out here if you didn't."

He gestured over to V, "Joss - meet V."

Joss greeted her with a nod, "So, V, this about my Randy?"

V looked to River. She agreed she wouldn't be the one to share the news so she kept quiet, waiting for him to speak.

"Joss... Randy - he didn't run away," he told her, sitting down on a nearby chair. "He was taken. Kidnapped. V's been helping me investigate."

Joss held her face in her hands, "River! Wh-why didn't you call?! You always throw a blanket over the truth!"

"The guy who did it got caught," V explained when River looked away. "Got shot a few times. We took his scrolls to see if we can piece together any clues."

"Where's my Randy?" Joss asked, exasperated. 

"We don't know that but that's what we're tryin' to find out," she continued.

Joss pointed a finger at V and River, "Then why are you here instead of searching for him?"

"Listen, we need to look through Randy's things," V said.

River stood up, finally chiming in, "Gonna look for any lead we can. Trust me, Joss."

Joss let out a deep sigh, "Don't destroy anything... Randy... he doesn't like it when anyone pokes through his stuff."

"Let's go, V," River called.

"Uh, thanks, Joss," V nodded.

The older woman nodded, "The kids are playing outside. Tell 'em it's time to eat."

River walked out of the kitchen first, taking V by the hand. He didn't seem to notice he'd grabbed it in the first place. V only stared at her hand in his, making no move to pull it back.

"Eddie for your thoughts," he said.

"Think all the women in your life have... character," she stated. 

River chuckled, "Yeah, well, not so good with 'em."

They left Joss' trailer, stepping out once again. V found Johnny still sitting on the steps, he looked at her and River's intertwined hands, his brow arching high up.

"Uncle River!"

V saw two little children running up to them from the side of Joss' trailer, one boy and one girl. 

"Monique, Dorian! Hey guys," River greeted warmly.

"Is this your girlfriend?" the little girl, Monique, asked with a smile.

The merc quickly snatched her hand back.

River scratched the back of his neck, he was equally surprised to learn he had been holding her hand the entire time, "She's just a friend. _Work_ friend." He quickly corrected himself.

"Woah, she looks cool," Dorian whispered to Monique before turning to V. "Are you a cop like Uncle River?" 

V shook her head with a smile and crouched to meet the children at eye level, "Not a cop but I do some freelance work."

"What's your name? Can you shoot guns?" Monique asked.

"Do you drive a car?" Dorian followed.

The kids looked at each other then at V, "Do you have a catchphrase?!"

"Monique, Dorian," River cautioned.

V waved him aside with a smile, "Uncle River worries too much, huh? My name is V and yes, I do shoot guns, yes I drive a car and I don't really have a catchphrase but maybe you guys can help me." 

River couldn't help but smile back. He hadn't expected V to be good with children. She was so natural with them and he felt his heart race further. 

"Okay, kids," he started, reluctant to break up the scene in front of him. "V and I gotta get to work. Your mom said dinner's ready."

The children pouted.

"Aw, man," Dorian let out. "Okaaaaay."

Both kids made their way into the main trailer.

"Sorry 'bout that," River said. "They can get a little excited."

V shook her head, "No worries. Kids will be kids."

The pair then headed into Randy's trailer to look for clues. Everything was undisturbed, the items left as if Randy had just stepped out for the day. He seemed to be a big fan of Tainted Overlord, a stack of vinyl records was laid out on the shelf near the door.

Johnny appeared, leaning on the small kitchen counter, "Place is a real hellhole. Like my good ol' days. Put that record on, V."

V did as Johnny asked, switching on the record player. 

"Liberum Arbitrium. Real dark shit," V commented.

Johnny took a drag of his cigarette, "Sound could use work, but you can tell they put blood, sweat and tears into it."

River and V searched the rest of the trailer. They found a few items of interest but most of the information they gathered came from Randy's computer which they found under the bed. 

V was shaken at the information they found but gathered herself quickly. Her own family... they had gone through something like this. Randy was in a lot of pain and that pain led him to a dark place, a vulnerability Anthony Harris took advantage of.

They attempted to find Harris' IP address but V found even her skills lacking.

"Okay, seems like we got what we came for," River said. "Sorry it's taking a huge chunk of your time. You're probably hungry."

Not one to turn down food, V nodded, "Could grab a few bites."

"Hey, so..." River started.

V's head tilted, "So...?"

"You don't mind sleeping over, do you? Just that we could be at it all night and it'd be easier for both of us if you stay over," he finished awkwardly. "I mean, you're of course welcome to go home and I can meet you tomorrow if we still need more time to investigate."

Her eyes widened a little but she could understand the logic behind it, "All right. Guess I can sleep on the floor somewhere."

"It's okay, Joss'll probably let you crash here at Randy's," he said.

"If you're sure, can always just sleep in your pickup. I'm not too picky," V assured him.

River shook his head, "Nah, V, you've been a big help in finding Randy. Joss wouldn't mind. 'Sides, if you can't, you can have my bed."

"With you in it?" she asked innocently.

River scratched the back of his need, coughing a little as if he'd choked on his own spit, "I-I, I mean..."

'He wishes,' Johnny remarked from the doorway with a smirk.

"Oh, I meant, am I gonna be sharing the space with you that's all," she clarified, she too started to feel a little embarrassed at the misunderstanding.

The former detective cleared his throat, "I was giving it to you in case. I... er, let's grab a bite."

River walked out of Randy's trailer, V trailing after him.

V heard Johnny make a noise from his seat at the strairs as if he was disgusted, 'Know what, V? Just fuck him. Fuck the badge and get it over with. You two gonks are actin' like horny teenagers. Get a damn room.'

'Fuck off, Johnny.'

Johnny laughed, 'It'd be easier if you just have sex with him and be done with it. God, the sexual tension everywhere you guys go... one night with him won't change anything. Even I did shit that conflicted with my own morals and principles. It's getting so stuffy in your fuckin' head with all these thoughts and hormones floating around.'

V roller her eyes at him but didn't say anything else. 

Maybe Johnny was right. It didn't have to mean anything, just meaningless sex.

No, she shook her head. Even if Johnny had a point, what happened to her family outweighed everything else. Outweighed how much she wanted to feel River's arms around hers, or what it would feel like for his lips to lay soft kisses on her bruised body. 

'Ughhhhh,' V thought, frustrated. 'Need to get laid. Stupid River. Stupid handsome River.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're gonna get into more main mission/side mission content soon after this so pls stay tuned! I'd love to incorporate River and the River/V relationship more into the main story. Ugh, Panam and Judy get so much attention and are integral to the main story while River and Kerry are just tossed to the side.
> 
> I'd love to give them bigger roles!
> 
> Btw, are these chapters getting too long? I can cut down if they are :'(
> 
> Also so sorry to everyone for the longer wait time for this chapter. I was dealing with a bout of insomnia and was finally able to catch some sleep after 4 days of being awake.
> 
> Thank you everyone for the kudos and support :)


	6. Overflow

V looked around Randy's trailer. She couldn't help but feel like an intrusion especially in a place as private as this. This was essentially a kid's bedroom and she was walking around it. Joss had let her stay over and sleep at Randy's, saving her the awkwardness of her earlier conversation with River.

Was Joss really okay with this?

Her mind wandered to her past, no use hiding it now, Johnny had already seen what happened.

She was the youngest of three yet she could vividly remember that day. It was the day her entire life began to unravel and there was nothing 9 year old V could do to stop it. The badges said it was a case of wrong time, wrong place but she knew better than to believe them. She knew it was targeted.

"Ugh, fuck," she let out, leaning on the chair. She set her guns and her golden synth-snakeskin cowboy hat on the table by the window. Her white one had to be left at home. It had gotten dirty from all the fighting she had and this one, though incredibly ostentatious, complemented her tanned skin and her choice of clothing.

When she got back to her place, she’d be sure to clean the white one so she could wear it when she went to see Panam.

The entire Randy situation affected her more than she expected. It was like floodgates were opened again and a rush of buried emotions came tumbling out. But she had to keep it together, for Randy's sake and for Joss' too. She stupidly promised they would find him but V knew better than to be optimistic in Night City. She learned that hard lesson at a young age.

Dinner was uncomfortable to say the least. River excused himself a little bit after the kids had gone to bed, leaving V alone with Joss, something she dreaded. Joss had opened up to her unexpectedly about her husband and about Randy. V didn't know how to respond except to tell her to hang in there and that Randy will be home soon. 

Gonk move, V, she thought.

Now there was even more pressure to find the kid.

She decided to step out for a bit to catch some fresh air. Her chest felt tight and some clean air might do her some good. She sat out by the steps, letting her hair down from their tight braids. Her long dark hair came out in soft waves down to the middle of her back. She massaged her neck, it had grown stiff the last few days.

"V?"

She looked up to see River. He had taken off his coat revealing his toned, bulky arms. V noticed some light scarring on them, probably sustained from working in the field. He also had two cups of coffee, one in each hand.

"Hey," she greeted. 

"You doin' good?" he asked, gesturing at the space beside her silently asking if he could sit there. "Thought I'd bring you some coffee."

V took the cup, patting empty space, "Plenty of room. And yeah, just said somethin' to Joss I probably shouldn't have."

He nodded, "Promised her you'd find Randy huh?"

"Yup," she sighed. She took a sip of the hot drink and she was surprised by the strong taste. She and River shared a preference for a strong brew it looked like, "Speaking from personal experience, shouldn't have said that."

River figured now would be the best time to ask since his curiosity had been building up the entire day, "Why do you hate cops so much? Somethin' happen to you?"

V frowned at the question, "Hell's this comin' from?"

"I've been a cop practically half my life," he explained. "I've seen mercenaries and gangbangers and they all got beef with us for obvious reasons. But you, it seems really personal. I didn't wanna ask earlier in the lab but I'm trained at these things, V. Got my cop intuition, I can tell when shit ain't right with someone."

The mercenary scoffed, "You ain't good at opening up, said so yourself, fuck makes you think I'd suddenly open up to you?"

River put his hand up defensively, "All right, fair enough."

"You even failed to mention to me how you were kicked out of the force," V continued. "You and I both know, NCPD suspensions practically just mean you're already fired."

"Jesus, V. Is it so fuckin' hard to make some kind of connection with you? Just wanted to know if there's anything I could help you out with. I'm actually trying to be a friend," River said suddenly.

V looked off into the sky, a little taken aback by his sudden aggressive tone. She buried her face in her hands and let out an exasperated grunt, "We're not friends! I'm only helping you because I also want Randy to be home with his family! You being out of my life after is a bonus! God, just 'cause you saved my brain from gettin' fried or me gettin' hit by some asswipe on the road, you think I owe you friendship?"

"No!" River replied. "I never said-"

V scowled as she stood up, "Then what?”

River stood up after her, “I just-“

“Why do you always wanna stick your nose in my business? God, leave me alone! You got a crush on me or somethin'?!"

"Yes!" he exclaimed throwing both hands at his sides.

The pair stared at each other, shocked at the sudden confession.

"W-what?" V finally asked. "What did you say?"

River walked past her, pacing back and forth. He seemed deep in thought, as if he were weighing his options. V could only watch him, unsure of what to do.

‘Gross,’ Johnny remarked. He leaned by the door to Randy’s trailer. ‘A crush? This is like some low budget high school play. You’d know what I’m talkin’ about if you didn’t drop out so soon, V.’

’Get lost, shit stain,’ she told Johnny annoyed out of her mind. ‘Not your biz, right now.’

The former detective turned his back towards her, "I'm goin' to leave you alone then. See you tomorrow."

"River..." she began. Her tone grew softer as she walked towards him. "River-"

He turned around only slightly, "You're right, V. We had a deal. We'll get Randy home and I'll leave you alone like we agreed."

River continued walking away, heading into Joss' trailer. When the door closed V almost slammed the coffee cup into the ground until she remembered that it wasn't hers and she had no right to do that no matter how angry she was. 

Johnny appeared next to her, "See, V, things always work out in the end."

"Not now," she warned.

He shifted his weight on one leg, "Look, I'm not gonna be the asshole that says I told you so but at least that saved you from having any more reason to interact with this guy after you find the kid. Not like you two gonks would ever make it work any further than just casual sex."

She looked him dead in the eyes, "Hey Johnny?" 

"V?"

"Fuck off," she said through gritted teeth.

He only shrugged, unfazed, "Happy trails."

V turned back into Randy's trailer, setting the coffee cup down next to her guns. She needed to decompress and there were a few ways she knew would work. Earlier when she was headed to Randy's trailer, she spotted a punching bag and some weights. She figured she could use them a bit, even if it was just the weights since she didn't want to make a noise in the eerily quiet Trailer Park. It wasn't as if she would be able to get sleep anyway, she was used to rowdy neighbours, occasional gunshots and the all-around buzz of living near the heart of Night City.

She made her way to the side of Joss' trailer, hopping over the fence instead of walking to where the stairs were to quickly reach the side porch area where the weights and punching bag were situated. 

There she started to pump iron, starting with her legs then working her way up to her arms. She went with the heavy dumbbells first before going light. 

She started to sweat and she welcomed the cool desert breeze.

V had grown a fondness for lifting, ever since she let Coach Fred talk her into it when she moved into her apartment. Soon he'd talked her into taking boxing classes, something Vic supported. He even offered a discount on Gorilla Arm cyberware so she could pack an even bigger punch which she refused for the meantime. 

It felt like she was meditating. Her own version of meditating. She had tried to meditate in the way that the one Buddhist monk tried with her over and over again but she found that she just couldn't sit still and focus on her breathing. She felt it more at the gym and when she had a target she could hit with her fists.

'Stupid cop,' she thought. 'What a fuckin' weirdo.'

How could he like her like that?

Her anger, though prevalent in every part of her brain, couldn't help the sneaky bouts of excitement she felt at the thought that River found her attractive in the same way she did him. She had gotten a few offers from guys along the years but she wasn't one she would consider to be conventionally attractive nor even just plain attractive in general. It wasn't something she'd use to describe herself. She was average looking, least by her own standards. Definitely, not someone that'd thrive off making a career from movies or television. 

Still, obviously, she loved to make herself look prettier, loved putting herself together through makeup and clothing. It was something she never really got to do growing up because she lived in the streets, went couch surfing from time to time until she was old enough and well-trained enough to take on jobs of her own without having to split the take.

V moved on to doing a short ab circuit, feeling tired much quicker than usual. She really needed to sleep and eat more but her current situation always made it hard for her to catch a break.

She was so tightly wound - who wouldn't be when faced with the high possibility of death? 

Maybe she could consider having a casual sexual relationship with River.

"You know how those things end, V," Johnny said appearing next to the punching bag. 

"No... huff... I actually dont," she replied in between crunches.

He shook his head, "Whaddaya mean no? Haven't you watched the feeds about that kinda shit?"

She stood up, flipping her hair back in one swift motion, "I don't know, was too busy tryin' to survive. I only got to catch up on the Bushido movies a few years back."

"Fine, okay, can't believe I gotta explain this gonk shit to you," he muttered. "Two people meet, agree to be casual hookups with each other. One of 'em or both of 'em start realisin' they got the hots for one another. Eventually they take it to the next level."

"Next level?" V asked. "Fuck does that mean?"

Johnny let out an exasperated noise, "Christ, V, do I have to keep spelling it out for you? They become an actual couple and get all lovey-dovey and do some mushy shit like commit to each other."

"Not your style I take it," she remarked. "Whatever, not like I'd let him anyway."

"You know, I can feel your hormones scramblin' when you think about him. I'm advising you to stick to your original deal, V. Night City is swimming with lonely men who need a good dick sucking."

V felt a deep frown and a feeling of disgust make its way to her face, "I cannot fuckin' believe Johnny Silverhand is actually telling me there are plenty of other fish in the sea. And anyway, I can't de-stress because of you. You live in my brain."

The Rockerboy laughed, "Right, as if your vanilla ass would even do anything to remotely turn me on."

"I'm _not_ vanilla," she corrected through gritted teeth.

"Oh yeah?," he challenged. "Oh Johnny, please go back into your corner, oh please don't look at me when I'm in the shower, oh Johnny I can't have sex because of you."

V glared at him, her temper rising rapidly. 

"I've seen hundreds of women in my lifetime, V. Don't flatter yourself thinkin' I'd ever be attracted to you or find you attractive."

She stood up, fists tightly curled into a ball. She didn't break eye contact with him as she threw her fist with as much force she could muster in the moment.

Her fist went flying at his engram but could not make any contact. It passed through Johnny and connected with the pillar behind him. 

She felt a strong jolt of electricity run from her hand up to her shoulder, followed by an immediate sharp, aching pain in her right hand especially around her knuckles.

"Really, V?" Johnny said with a slight disapproving tone.

She let out a small groan, controlling her breathing as she held her injured hand steady, unable to move her fingers from the pain. Some of the wood splintered and dug into her knuckles causing them to bleed even more. Thankfully she didn't throw a punch hard enough to break her bones. For once, she was grateful for her sleep deprivation and bad diet, "God I hate you sometimes."

The mercenary glanced at where her fist connected with the pillar and found she damaged some of the wood and left some traces of blood.

She sighed. The blood had even trickled down to her arm, some had spilled on to the floor.

"V? What the hell happened?"

River appeared from the back door of the trailer. He wasn't wearing his red tank or his shoes, just his pants. He looked at her hands then at her surrounding area.

"River..." she whispered. She looked to Johnny silently telling him to disappear to which he just shrugged.

"He can't see me anyway," he told her.

River approached her with caution, still looking around, "What happened to your hand? Did you... punch something?"

She pointed to the pillar with her head, "Yeah I was shadow boxing and miscalculated the distance. I'll clean and repair it."

He stood by her now, gently taking her hand, "Never mind that, just some minor work. I got a first aid kit lyin' around, lemme fix up your hand."

"I can do it myself," she said, pulling her hand back. She tried to hide a wince from moving her fingers, "I've bandaged worse."

River shook his head, "V, can you just for once accept my help, please? You can barely even move your fingers."

"I can do it," she pressed. "It's literally just bloody knuckles and the pain will pass."

The former detective sighed, "Can't get through to you at all can I... least let me get the first aid kit."

V closed her eyes tightly while biting her lip, "Jesus, okay... River, I'd appreciate your help in bandaging my knuckles."

"Well now, that wasn't so hard," River replied with a small smile. He disappeared back into the trailer and returned with an old first aid kit. It looked worn, probably older than the kids. But she wasn't one to complain about it, at least they had one.

"Come on," River said, leading her by the railing. He set down the old first aid kit and took out a pair of tweezers, He took her hand again, carefully pulling out the small pieces of wood that were lodged into her skin. "Lose your temper over somethin'?

V let out a small chuckle, "Could say that."

She looked at River who was intensely focused on cleaning her hand. He was more meticulous than she was that's for sure. If it had been her doing it, she would have just pulled out the splinters and run some alcohol on her hand, ignoring the stinging intense pain as she quickly patted it dry to bandage it sloppily. Not River, though, he took his time. He even warned her when he was about to wipe her wounds with some alcohol-soaked gauze and blew on it gently.

"Learned this from years of being on the force," he told her with a smile.

V felt herself smiling back, "Sheesh, learned mine from livin' in the streets. You sure do take a long ass time though."

River chuckled after he blew on her knuckles. His breath was cold on her skin, the desert chill was something else, "Was always a bit of a worrier, rather not get anything infected."

"Were you always a boy scout?" V asked.

He looked at her wide-eyed at first before laughing, "Boy scout huh? That's new." He took the long bandages and prepared to wrap her hand, "I became a cop because... well, let's just say I had my own dreams for how I wanted Night City to be. I know cops aren't perfect, hell I know they can be some of the dirtiest, meanest motherfuckers out there. But I can't give up my morals like that, V. Everyday I wake up and have to choose between doing the right thing or selling a piece of my soul. I can't let my guard down. I can't stoop to that level."

V only nodded. She was surprised by his sudden vulnerability. She could now understand better why he was the way he was. He _did_ carry a heart of gold, but shit like that doesn't last in the city. She admired his resiliency regardless. Everyone's got a right to believe in something, especially something good.

"Earlier," she began hesitantly. "You asked what happened to me before."

River finished wrapping her knuckles up in a tight but loose enough bandage, it was neat, neater than what she could have managed.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he assured. "Not like we're seeing each other again after we find Randy."

V moved her fingers a bit, there was still a significant amount of pain but it was manageable, just an aching pain, "Thanks, River. Really do appreciate it."

"No worries, V," he said. He stood to clean up the used first aid items, tidying up the kit. He went back into the trailer and emerged with a damp towel, "Got some dried blood on your arm."

He handed it to her and moved to leave. He stopped when he felt V's hand grab his own.

"River, please stay," she pleaded softly.

He nodded slowly, moving to stand in front of her again. The moonlight illuminated her face and he could see in them actual vulnerability. A softness he hadn't seen before. She sometimes would space out or grow quiet but those moments didn't compare to what he saw before him now. 

She hung the towel on the railing before tucking her hair behind one ear, "It's not easy for me okay..."

"Hey, you don't have to tell me the details," he said. "Just whatever you're comfortable with."

"I had an older brother," she began. "He went missin' like Randy one day. Next I saw him, his body was on the street, his face beaten and bruised. His death was suspicious as hell from the beginning. The cops didn't wanna work with us."

V felt herself start to well up and she looked away from River. 

"Fuck, can't do this," she muttered, burying her face in her hands. "Sorry, that's all I can say for now. Just my brother went missin' one day and we never got justice for his death. S'why I wanted to help you out as much as I can. Don't want it to happen to another kid."

River moved closer to her, placing a comforting hand on her arm, "I get it, V. Not the easiest for everyone to be open but hey, thanks for sharing as much as you could with me anyway."

V looked at him for a moment and before she knew it, her lips met his with a heavy force taking River by surprise. The pair almost fell onto the floor had it not been for River catching the railing at the last second. They melted into one another, both of them hungry for more. He leaned against the railing while she pressed against him, their lips still interlocked. He tasted like fresh mint, like he had just brushed his teeth earlier and his skin smelled of synth-strawberries. She smelled like blood, sweat and tears and tasted like it too but it drove him wild anyway.

She could feel excitement building up in her core. The spark between them was so strong. She could feel almost an electric current running up and down along her spine as his hands travelled down her sides.

'What are you doing, V?' she asked herself. 

He sucked on her bottom lip while she used her uninjured hand to guide his to her breast underneath her loose tank top. He happily obliged, using her finger to softly caress her nipple eliciting a soft moan into his mouth.

God she hadn't been touched like that in ages.

'What _are_ you doing, V?'

Her eyes shot open at the sound of Johnny's voice and she pulled away from River immediately.

A look of slight panic entered the older man's eyes, "D-Did I do something wrong?"

Both of them were panting, breathless at what had just occured.

"N-no," she said shakily. "I... just... thank you for helping me. I-I'll see you tomorrow."

Before River could even respond, she turned and walked away as fast as she could back into Randy's trailer.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," she muttered over and over again when the door finally closed behind her. "Stupid V! That was stupid!"

She clutched her chest, still panting from their interaction. The butterflies in her stomach were going wild and the electric feel couldn't leave her body even as she tried to will it to leave. Her face and her ears had grown so hot she could probably fry some synth-sausages on them.

"What the hell was that, V?" Johnny asked, appearing directly in front of her. "Can't believe you made me kiss a cop. Could've warned me next time. I do _not_ want to be there when you dogs take it further."

"There won't be a next time!" V exclaimed.

"The way you were kissing him, the shit you were feeling inside. V, you'd be worse than a gonk to believe there won't be some kind of next time," he replied, crossing his arms.

The adrenaline had finally started to wear off and she could feel her hand start to ache again. She groaned, "Can't I catch one fuckin' break? Just one?"

"This is starting to get old," Johnny remarked. "I'm tellin' you, just fuck him and be done with it. Clearly both of you are into each other. If I were still alive..."

"Well you're not, okay? You're dead, dead as shit," she snapped. "If you're so adamant about me and him then why'd you stop me?"

He merely waved her away, "I didn't stop you. Just asked you what you were doing."

"Bullshit."

"Listen, V, as someone who actually surprisingly gives some kind of shit about you, I only wanted you to be sure of what you're doing," he said.

She rolled her eyes, "That's some fuckin' bullshit."

"We share a brain don't we?" he continued. "If I'm lyin' you'd know."

"All right, fine, say I do believe you," she answered. "Should I give in or not? Christ, I'm takin' sex advice from Johnny Silverhand."

Johnny, for once, gave her a genuine smile, "The one and only. Now look, I don't call the shots, I just say some smart-ass comment and leave. But ain't you got your own moral codes and principles? I thought you weren't gonna betray your family for any badge."

V sighed, "Yeah, I know. But he's different, isn't he? He believes in different things..."

He shrugged, "Then shit, V, that's up to you to decide with your own moral codes. I don't like badges either, nobody does. Not even badges like badges."

"He's got a good heart," she said nodding. "He's not like the typical cops I see around the city but it doesn't change the fact that he IS one. Suspended or not, he still is one. Ugh fuck of all things, this should be the lowest on my priority list. I'm literally dying."

She straightened up suddeny, "Yeah, I'm _dying_. Jesus, I don't have much time left and I'm wasting it stressing about this shit."

His brow raised, "And?"

"And," she continued. "I'm stickin' with what I said. He's nice and all but he's been distracting me. Makin' me feel shit. I was fine 'til I met him so once he's gone, I'll be fine again."

Johnny merely sighed. He could hear her real thoughts and feel her true emotions but chose not to mention anything about it for her sake, "If you say so, V. If you say so."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> o.o
> 
> what could that possibly mean?
> 
> after this chapter or the chapter after next, there's gonna be more main story content so please stay tuned! thank you everyone :)


	7. Electric Feel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hola friends!
> 
> thank you so much for waiting and for all the kudos and nice comments <3
> 
> i am sooooo sorry for the late late update TT
> 
> i'm into my final 6 weeks as a uni student and will be veeery busy until the first week of April but i'm committing to this fic and hope to update as regularly as i can! i was struggling to find the time to finish this chapter but i'm confirming now that i fully intend on finishing this story (it's one of my resolutions for 2021 :3)
> 
> also at the end of this chapter i thought i'd share my 2 cents about how i feel about the game, i've been very aware of the issues surrounding Cyberpunk 2077 and definitely feel that it needs a LOT of changes and fixes despite being in love with it 
> 
> stay safe everyone and thank you for the continued support :)

"Okay, now delete his contact info."

V's head snapped at Johnny as if in disbelief, "What? why?"

"You're not gonna need it anyway, you rescued the kid, happy family, yadda-yadda," he replied as he blew out some cigarette smoke.

"I don't understand why I need to delete his number," she said. "It's not as if he can't contact me just because I deleted it."

Johnny shrugged, "Then block his ass damn."

V could only roll her eyes, choosing not to respond to the Rockerboy that was just lounging on her couch, taking up way more space than he needed to. She had just gotten home from having rescued Randy at Edgewood Farm with River. She knew she had to call both Panam and Goro soon but first, she needed some shut-eye.

River had woken her up in Randy's trailer in the wee hours of the morning just a few hours after their 'encounter' frantically talking about the BD scrolls Yawen sent and how they held the key to saving Randy. Apparently the scrolls they retrieved earlier in the lab had no useful information and River's blackmailing technique proved to be effective.

Both of them pieced together any and all clues they could find as they searched Harris' dream scrolls for relevant information. He had a fucked up childhood - abusive father, problems with socialising with other children, problems with authority figures, poor mental health... but then again, you could say the same for a lot of the kids living in Night City.

V was a prime example of a fucked up childhood - it's a wonder she didn't end up dead or scrambled up in the head like Harris. She had to thank Padre Ibarra for that and though she kept running from him in the beginning out of caution and self-preservation, a sense of gratitude and respect always led her to coming back to him until she learned to fully trust in the man.

River drove them to Edgewood Farm solely focused on saving his nephew. The ride there was quiet yet tense and V was thankful it did not last very long. Once there, she led both of them through the field, hacking a lot of the mines that had been scattered around the entire area surrounding the farm and all its structures so as to keep from unwanted visitors. They even faced security turrets along the way. Fortunately, V was a skilled enough netrunner and was soon able to hack into Harris' computer to disable the security systems. 

From there they had to climb up to an open area on the roof of the farm and make their way down to the barn where about 4 or 5 young boys were attached to the same machines V saw in Harris' BD scrolls that were used to pump cows with growth hormones and steroids.

River stood in the middle at first, frozen at the scene in front of him before quickly jumping into action to shut down the machines. It was disturbing to say the least and though V attempted to rescue as many of the teens trapped in there, a few of them had already met their demise. 

They found Randy towards the middle of the barn, his pulse all too strong from all the hormones and steroids that had been pumped into him but at least he was alive.

V thought she almost saw River buckle and collapse onto his knees from relief.

It wasn't long until Trauma Team arrived to take away the boys to a hospital while some of the NCPD squads stayed to investigate the place.

She leaned by the hood of River's truck, the former detective stood beside her as they watched the second Trauma Team AV leave.

"We did it, River," V said after an awkward moment of silence.

"Yup," he answered looking ahead. Since their earlier encounter at the Trailer Park, V noticed that he couldn't seem to make eye contact with her, "Not about to leave it like this though. The horror that bastard inflicted, can't let it go."

V put a hand on his shoulder making him look back at her. She could see a deep anger in his eyes, even his optic seemed to glow redder than usual and she knew she most likely wouldn't be able to talk him out of what he already decided to do, "Gonna zero him then?"

River turned fully to face her, his eyes still dodging hers, his face contorted into a mixture of disgust and hatred. V was taken aback by this side of River, he had been gentle with her just hours before but the River that stood before her now seemed to be quite the opposite of that.

"Exactly," he said through gritted teeth. "Gonna squeeze the life outta him with my bare hands. Sick fuck has to die."

He looked away from her to hide the scowl that formed on his face but V could see the veins in his neck popping out. Pure rage. A very dangerous yet effective motivator.

She couldn't say she didn't agree with him, hell, given the chance she would also have taken revenge on her brother's killers and on the cops that helped them get away. She would consider it a form of justice her family never got. Still, it was a bit different for River due to the fact that Harris was basically brain dead and any life he had left was only thanks to the machines keeping him in that state. The life River sought to take had already been long gone. 

"Look, River," she began. "You shouldn't throw your life away to murder a man that's already dead anyway."

"V-"

"Just listen, ugh I don't even know why I'm offering but I am," she continued. "I'll do it myself, send you stills as proof. Who's gonna help pay the bills at the hospital if you're rotting in some prison cell? Who's gonna look after the kids while Joss is in the hospital watchin' Randy? Your sister needs you right now."

River contemplated for a moment before finally shaking his head, "You might be right, V, but I need to do this. It's driving me crazy. I have to be the one to do it."

She sighed in defeat, of course there was nothing she could say to convince him otherwise but at least she tried.

Seemingly finding enough courage, River caught her eyes, "Thank you for offering and... I appreciate your concern, not just about me but also for my family."

His tone had grown softer now and the anger that marked his face disappeared as if it were a ghost.

"I don't wanna see another family collapse," she told him. She was happy for them, though Randy would need a lot of support to overcome what he went through. V was confident that having a tough yet loving mother like Joss and loving siblings like Monique and Dorian will help ease him into a normal life again. Not to mention how his Uncle River believed in the importance of upholding good principles and justice - a cop with a heart of gold as she'd put it, a cop with a soft side.

River took V's uninjured hand in his, the gesture taking her off guard, "Thanks for stickin' by me, comin' out here and meeting my family. What happened earlier... I don't know. I never felt a connection like that before. Honestly, my hands... hah, they feel like they got sparks. Might just overload this thing," he gestured at his cybernetic hand, "I know, I know it's mushy but hey it's the truth."

Johnny appeared behind River making a face, "I cannot believe those words just left this gonk's mouth. Let him down already, V, come on, we got shit to do."

"River, I..." she hesitated as she looked back and forth between the two men. She felt the exact same way as much as she tried to deny it. It was a crazy electric feel, like lightning struck her with every gentle touch and with every kiss they had shared. But she knew what she had to do anyway. Even she had her principles, her own vows to honour, vows she made to her brother when he passed and to her family before they fell apart. She couldn't let River distract her from her main mission of getting Johnny Silverhand out of her brain either.

She pulled her hand away, "No. This, whatever this is, can't continue. In fact, should never have started in the first place."

River took a step back, she could feel his disappointment even from where she stood. He had hoped she changed her mind about the entire thing, she guessed and maybe at one point she almost did but to her, it seemed like a betrayal towards her family. He was a good man sure but if he somehow dodges the bullet and gets reinstated back as a cop then it's back to square one.

It's best to nip it in the bud, she thought, best not to foster whatever it was that was happening between them. Besides, it was just a stupid crush anyway. They've only really known each other for a week or two. Whatever feelings or attractions grew in this short period of time will fade away eventually. 

"Okay," he said unable to hide the disappointment and hurt in his voice. "Least let me drive you home. There ain't a car in sight here."

She shook her head, "S'all good, I can call a Delamain."

"Come on," River pressed. "It's the least I can do after everything."

V sighed. In truth, she was ecstatic to have the opportunity to spend more time with him and he was making it harder for her to hide it. Well... he _was_ right... there weren't any other cars around besides his truck and the NCPD squad cars. And a Delamain would take a while to get here, she could have been home by then.

Johnny kissed his teeth at V. He watched the wheels turn in her head, literally, as she rationalised the decision to accept River's offer. 

"Okay, fine," she answered, surprising River while Johnny felt the opposite. He saw it coming a mile away. He wondered if it was because he was a bunch of numbers stacked together in her mind that he could somehow predict V's thoughts in her brain before her neurons could even fire and make connections, before her brain even sent the signals to her - or maybe it was just because V was an open book to him, he had been living in her mind for a while now after all.

River eagerly opened the door for her. She hopped into the truck as he made his way to the driver's side. After giving River the address and setting up the GPS, the drive to V's place was completely silent. It was awkward but so was almost every interaction they had. None of them knew what to say to the other. None of them wanting to admit what they really wanted. At one point Johnny even retreated into his own space in V's brain to escape the long silence and the raging hormones that had cut through the air sharply. 

The pair stole glances at each other from time to time, waiting for the other to say anything at all. This went on until they were at the front of V's building. She almost hesitated leaving.

Silently, she opened the door and hopped out, thanking River but avoiding any eye contact.

She made her way up the steps.

"V!" she heard River call after her from the truck.

She turned around at the sound of his voice much too quickly for her liking.

He hopped out, jogging towards her as he held something out in his hand, "Your hat."

V took her hat from him, "Thanks..."

They lingered there for a bit as if waiting for more words to be exchanged and when none were said, River gave her a small nod before going back to his truck and driving away.

"Move oooon, V," Johnny urged from the couch he was lounging on. 

She hadn't noticed her mind had wandered back to the former detective, "I _am_ moving on. Gonna call Goro and Panam when I wake up."

"Good, finally got some sense back into you," he said sitting up. "I told you, just go out there and fuck your way through Night City. If you need dick that bad..."

"Shut up, Johnny," she clapped back. "You were the one telling me to have sex with him and then not have sex with him. You were confusing me just as much."

He snorted, "Your hormones were goin' wild, worse than a pubescent high school boy that just discovered the existence of porno BDs. I only suggested it so you can set your head straight after you do it. It's just sex, V, just some meaningless shit... never thought boy scout sank that far into the deep end though." He whispered the latter half to himself. "Call that 'Saka corpo-fanatic first by the way."

V made an exasperated sound, "Jeez, okaaaaaay, let me get some shut eye at least."

"And call Jackie's mom," he added quickly.

"What?" she asked, a little surprised.

He laid back down, staring up at the ceiling, "Just do it. Wouldn't hurt to check in on the lady."

She nodded, a small smile creeping up on her face, "Sure, Johnny."

* * *

V awoke in the darkness. She groaned.

Why was it that despite how long she slept, it always felt like it was never enough?

She checked the time through her optics.

_21:18_

She had slept through the entire day and most of the evening it seemed - she was a lot more tired than she expected. Her stomach growled and her throat was uncomfortably dry. Great, now she was hungry and thirsty too. She rolled out of bed to turn on the lights, blinding her for a brief moment.

She stretched her back, letting out a loud sound at the same time.

The quiet peace in her apartment was unnerving to her so she decided to turn on the television, not particularly caring which channel was on. She wasn't really in the mood to watch anything anyway, she just needed something to fill the empty space.

She then looked to quenching her unimaginable thirst, downing 3 bottles of water from the vending machine by her bed. She found it "fucking ridiculous" that she had to buy water even in her own home because Night City politicians decided to embezzle money instead of investing in good technology that could filter the water.

"You okay, V?" Johnny asked, sitting at the edge of her bed.

"Just really hungry and dehydrated," she replied. "Really need to get my shit together."

V checked any messages she might have missed while she was half dead. She was almost disappointed when she found messages from fixers and only fixers.

"Call the 'Saka cunt," Johnny reminded.

She waved him away, "I know, I know. And hey be nice to Goro, he's not bad. He saved my life _and_ he's been trying to help me. Plus he's fun to fuck with - guy looks _exactly_ like Hideshi Hino."

"Just more depressed and muuuch less entertaining," he added. "Look, just 'cause you exchange funny messages with each other, doesn't mean you can be chooms with him. He still has loyalty to Arasaka, that means everything to those soulless freaks. And stop using the 'he saved my life' shit. You don't owe everyone that saves your life your friendship. It doesn't work like that in Night City. You'll end up with a bullet in the back at this rate, another one to pair up with the one Dexter DeShawn put in your skull."

"You really don't fuck around with cops and corpos huh?" V pointed out with a brief chuckle. 

Johnny gave her a small smile, "Hah! Cops and corpos, sounds like some shitty board game the big corps would've made back in the day."

"Right," she said. "Sometimes I forget how old you actually are." She looked up Takemura's contact information through her optics. "Thanks but I survived Night City for this long - think I know what I'm doing. Remember when you told me you're gonna take over my body and kill me? Now here we are and you're the only close friend I have left. "

She dialed up Takemura's phone before Johnny could even make a comment about her admission regarding their relationship. She could, however, feel a genuine warmth coming from Johnny at the moment, one that he also tried to hide. He may be an engram of the real Johnny Silverhand, may be just a series of ones and zeroes, but V was grateful she wasn't completely alone in this world... even if he did annoy her at times.

After a short while, Takemura finally picked up the call.

"V? Good to hear from you," he greeted. 

V could hear a number of background noises from his end of the call. She could hear people yelling over each other, the sounds of synth-meat and synth-veggies being fried, the clinking of glasses - Goro must have been in a bar or a restaurant in Japantown or some food cart in the market.

"Hey, Goro," she greeted back. "Just checkin' in. What's next for us?"

"Meet me in Japantown, at the market. I have created a plan for us," he informed her. "We will discuss it together."

V's brow raised, "Damn, not even a week's passed and you already hatched a scheme."

"We must act fast. I will see you at the market in a little bit," he said. "I will try to eat in the meantime. I am _starving_."

She chuckled, "Good luck, Goro. See you in a bit."

Johnny made a disapproving sound when the call ended, "Barely got any intel from Wakako about the parade and he's already got some shit planned out. Can't say I like it, V."

V moved into her stash where she started to holster her pistols and pack some extra ammo, "You don't like anything, Johnny. What other golden nuggets of wisdom do you have for me other than don't trust the corpo or burn the corpo shit?"

The Rockeryboy scoffed, "Nothing! That's exactly it. Fine, go parley with the guy. Just make sure whatever plan he's come up with is solid as hell."

The pair made their way to the parking garage in the building where V left her car. She opted to leave her cowboy hat behind and let her dark messy hair loose. Johnny and V both sat in the car, listening to old Samurai songs as they made their way to Japantown. She didn't know if Johnny could feel tired but she definitely was. She still hadn't eaten anything, just drank a whole lot of water. She could feel her muscles wasting away from the lack of nourishment, sleep and training. Coach Fred would be on her ass next time she shows up to train.

Night City was bustling with life even at 10 in the evening. Numerous cars populated the streets while an endless cycle of pedestrians seemed to scatter around the sidewalks. V read once that New York City was the city that never slept, well whoever wrote that clearly hadn't been to Night City. No matter how late in the evening or early in the day, no matter the weather, there was always _something_ going on in the city. Gang wars, shootouts, shady business deals alongside people working in the stores and offices, teachers, nurses... there was one thing everyone in the city had in common: survive.

V always admired the "normal" people. The ones who lived in Night City and tried to make the best out of it, the ones who weren't extremely wealthy or fortunate. Rather, she had more respect towards anyone determined enough to follow that ancient lifepath - school, job, marriage, kids, retirement, old age. It was so rare in this city to find someone just trying to make it instead of trying to make it big.

Her family was like that. Just part of the normal people.

As they approached the meeting place at the Japantown Market, V noticed the increased NCPD presence. There were police officers stationed at almost every corner. It made her a little nervous being surrounded by this many.

She made her way up to where Takemura instructed her to go, only to find said man speaking to 2 NCPD officers.

"I do not understand," she heard him say to one of them as she walked closer. "Does Arasaka not have enough of its own people?"

"Look around sir. Things're heating up in the city," the cop replied. "Suits know one spark is all it takes for Japantown to go up in flames."

"And riots are always best put down by people not sportin' your brand name," added the other police officer whose back was facing Takemura.

Takemura finally noticed her presence and greeted her with a nod, "Ah, you are here."

V nodded back with a smile, "Goro! Good to see you."

The former Saburo bodyguard couldn't hide the surprise on his face at the warm greeting. He smiled back, "As it is you, V," he gestured for her to follow. "Come."

Takemura took the lead as they crossed the bridge, "I have acquired information of my own. Do you know who most wished to honour Saburo-sama at the parade?"

V didn't even need to dig deep to know the answer to that question.

"His murderer," Takemura continued. "The irony makes me sick."

They stopped near the end of the bridge where there was an excellent view of the airspace above Japantown. Numerous AVs passed above them. Takemura leaned against the railing as he looked up to the sky. V followed suit. 

He looked older, tired and depressed... so not much different than herself.

The first time she saw him, she was stuck behind a screen holding in her breath, her heart pounding so loud her eardrums could have burst. Jackie was alive then and the biochip wasn't in her head slowly killing her. Takemura himself looked much more well-put together, wearing an expensive looking Arasaka suit, clean shaven and his hair up in a tight bun. Now he was wearing an old, dusty trench coat with a five o'clock shadow shading his jaw and loose hairs framed his face.

Did his hair turn greyer?

His undereyes were darker and more lines seemed to appear on his forehead.

Despite all that however, V thought he was a handsome looking man.

"What, you gonna fuck him too?" Johnny asked suddenly as he appeared beside her. "Your taste in men is the worst."

V rolled her eyes. She simply found the man attractive, what was the harm in that?

"If I could get onto Hanako-sama's float," Takemura said, his voice bringing V back to the conversation. "I could speak with her in private."

Her brows furrowed, "Get there how?"

Takemura smirked, "Why, jump, of course."

"Of course," V echoed sarcastically. "Expectation's way too high, Goro. Couldn't pull that off even if you had your fancy implants."

"I have thought of a solution," he turned around, leaning on the railing with his back. He stepped closer to V as he lowered his voice in case there were any interested ears around. "While you were busy conducting your shady dealings, I learned more about the floats. They are all kept in one place - Arasaka Industrial Park, it is there that they are prepared."

"Let me guess," V interjected. She too moved closer and spoke in a lower voice, "We're gonna break into the compound, plant some kinda virus on the float for Hanako and wait for d-day."

Takemura nodded, "Correct. You can then disable any security before I sneak inside."

She made an approving sound, "Might actually work, Goro. I'm gonna need-"

"I know what you will need," it was his turn to interrupt. "I have acquired an infected shard. It was very expensive but the man who sold it to me assured me that it will work."

He took the shard from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Kabuki?" she asked.

He nodded.

V slotted the shard into her head, "Nice. Good chance this is some solid software." 

In her optics she saw her brain downloading the infected code.

Takemura nudged her, telling her to follow him again, "Getting onto the float is one thing. I will be exposed - an easy target for the snipers. Okada-san mentioned security cameras. If we can gain access to them we will see exactly where the snipers are. You can deal with them as I advance."

"Sounds like a plan," she replied without much thought. It seemed decent enough. She had no plan of her own anyway that she can afford to disagree with him and she trusted Takemura. He wouldn't be Saburo's personal bodyguard if he wasn't the best of the best.

"You agree?" Takemura exclaimed. "Just like that? The risks are considerable."

V sighed, "Yeah well, gettin' more and more used to that."

He looked at her for a moment. He was both impressed and concerned. It was the biochip's doing - pushing her to take risks like this. Both of them were desperate in their situations. He for the truth to be revealed to Hanako and her to be able to live out her life normally, before the engram of Johnny Silverhand started slowly eating at her brain.

He felt sorry for her but he would not tell her that because he knew she would not take kindly to it. V was hardheaded and fiercely independent, traits that he also had. That was why he felt he could trust her, because he could see himself in her.

"Let us test this software before we make our way to Arasaka Industrial Park," he said.

She pouted. Couldn't they just go there already? It's Kabuki tech anyway.

She opted not to protest, however, as she knew that Takemura, being the perfectionist that he is, would not allow them to move on unless they made sure the plan wasn't as solid as it could be.

"Yes, sir, Hideshi-san," she replied cheekily referencing the time she made him say the old talkshow host's catchphrase outside of Wakako's pachinko parlour.

Takemura snorted, chuckling at the small joke.

Hardheaded, fiercely independent and _funny_.

She could make him laugh even at this situation in his life. From the shoddy poetry and idioms in her messages to her childish jokes made at his expense, she knew how to lighten their situation.

It was unfortunate that fate dealt her a bad hand but Takemura found himself wishing her the best, when all was said and done. Regardless of how things may end, he found himself wishing she may be able to live out her life the way she wanted to and if he was in a situation to do that without having to betray Arasaka then he would do it willingly and happily so.

After today's mission, he should buy her a meal, he thought. They both needed a distraction from everything involving the biochip and Arasaka. Perhaps they could even become friends, not just allies with a common goal.

And what better way than to start with a good meal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> below i'll be sharing my thoughts about Cyberpunk so if you'd rather just skip ahead to the next part or are not interested then pls feel free to click away! if you're planning to stay then i'll try to keep it in a concise, point form format:
> 
> \- World: i LOVE the world of Cyberpunk though i have to admit that i'm already partial to it from the beginning when it was first announced because i've always been a sci-fi fan (my fave movie is Blade Runner), i really do love the lore, the history, the aesthetic of Night City - it's beautiful to look at when running right and fun to explore HOWEVER it feels empty! they throw all these side gigs and side missions at us i feel as if to distract us from how empty the world actually is, it'd be unfair for me to compare it to the GTA franchise bc Rockstar has polished their open world games but i'm sad that we don't have that much to do, for example in the Yakuza games there are so many minigames to play that even tie in to the story/sub-stories sometimes
> 
> \- AI: there's no other way to put it other than the AI in Cyberpunk is TERRIBLE, if you point a gun at them they just stand there, if you fire a gun, the people in cars just run away instead of having mixed reactions such as running away or driving away in panic, Jackie doesn't help you that much either during the starting missions and don't even get me started on police AI, why do they spawn right behind you no matter where you are? when you drive a few blocks down they're gone... terrible AI and terrible police AI
> 
> \- Story: the story of Cyberpunk is definitely its strongest aspect, i absolutely LOVE the story, love how Keanu Reeves was used in the game (initially i thought he'd just be used as a way to bring in more players and he'd only have a minor role so i was pleasantly surprised at how he was integrated into the game), it's not perfect though and i think we should've been given more time to build that bond with Jackie - Jackie is such a great character and definitely needs more love, more people (including me) are more partial to Goro because we spend more time with him - maybe CDPR could've put Johnny in the sequel and made 2077 an introductory game into the world of Night City bc i personally would've loved to experience more of Arasaka, Militech, MaxTac and definitely more Adam Smasher who i feel is very under-utilised
> 
> \- Lifepath: too rushed, it's different for the first 20 minutes then eventually they're the same, i started as a Streetkid, then Corpo, then Nomad and there were barely any differences, Nomad has an extra mission after Act 1 so it's def the more detailed one out of the 3, Streetkid isn't as fleshed out and doesn't have much differing dialogue either compared to the other 2 but i wish it did
> 
> \- Romances: i've already shared some of my thoughts about the romances in-game and y'all know i feel that more importance was placed on Judy and Panam, someone on youtube put together all of the romance scenes for each partner and Judy's and Panam's got up to 3hrs (i think even 3.5hrs?) while Kerry's and River's were only 1.5hrs and Panam and Judy get the BEST ending of the game (SPOILERS: if you don't care about being an NC legend and would rather just leave NC to find Panam's contacts to help V survive, both of them will leave with you - i played all the endings and i really wanted to be with River to the end but he leaves you if you decide to leave NC - i get it, each character has their own motivations but goddamn we barely have any interaction with him then can't even have a storybook ending unlike with Judy and Panam), would love a Goro romance though hehe
> 
> \- Customisation: not nearly enough customisation options, i was VERY disappointed to find out we cant customise our V in game especially in a world like Cyberpunk where everyone can have new implants, new tats, new hair, new everything at will, but we can't customise our cars or our apartment or even V's backstory, which if you watch the gameplay trailer from 2018, you have options for V's backstory and what kind of person they can be like, can't even buy new apartments unlike in GTA but honestly thats inconsequential compared to everything else
> 
> \- Characters; love 'em, CDPR are still very good at creating great characters so good in fact i wish we had more of Adam Smasher, Morgan Blackhand, the Arasaka family (all of em are pretty interesting), Jackie, Kerry and River, would've loved to have more content of em
> 
> \- Music: NO COMPLAINTS 10/10 SO GOOD LOVE THE MUSIC
> 
> and thats it! i'm not gonna go into any more detail than that, despite the flaws i still love the game, obviously! i wouldnt be taking my time to write out a fanfic like this if i didnt (plus i wanna flesh out the River x V romance hehe)
> 
> thank you for reading and see you soon (sooner rather than later hopefully!)


	8. Are You Out Tonight?

When Takemura imagined a good meal, he imagined fresh ingredients carefully chosen to complement each other paired with thick, healthy slices of fish or beef, perhaps even chicken that was well-seasoned and cooked to perfection - the point where the meat simply fell off the bones and the juices spilled out at every bite. He imagined a hearty, traditional Japanese meal with miso soup, fresh vegetables and _hojicha_ (roasted green tea).

He didn't imagine synth-beef, synth-eggs, synth-milk... synth-everything. Was anything even real here anymore?

He tried his best not to judge the food. After all, he only got to experience the luxuries he had because he was lucky enough to be recruited, picked up off the streets of Chiba-11, Japan's murder capital, by Arasaka. He put himself through hell to achieve those luxuries, rewarded to him by Saburo himself because he was the most deadly, most loyal, most honourable and most obedient of the lot.

But not even the most honourable man in Saburo's corporate army can hide his aversion to the "food" being served to him.

How V could eat this, no, how _anyone_ could eat this was a mystery. V could've stood for vacuum with the way she ate up the plate in front of her clean. If Takemura leaned in close enough he could see his own reflection staring back at him.

"I thought you were hungry, Goro," V remarked, noticing the older man's hesitation. "Hey if you're nervous, I told you, Tom's just a loud mouth. He says what's on his mind and that usually involves talking shit about corpos like yourself."

He shook his head, "It is not that, V."

Yes he was indeed hungry, starving even, but there was a reason Night City was famous for the gang wars and not the local cuisine. Hell, even the tourists, those either crazy enough or stupid enough - usually both - to visit Night City for a holiday were sent on carefully curated restaurants most likely to avoid places like Tom's Diner.

"Oh I know, it's 'cause you ate already earlier right?" she pressed on, taking a huge swig of her synth-milk.

"It is not that either," he replied with a sigh. 

Yes he did indeed eat earlier, one single bite of whatever mystery meat his fellow countryman served him. It was disgusting, definitely much worse than what he had in front of him now. At least now he could tell what he was eating even if it was synthetic. His disappointment was immeasurable. The smells in the Japantown market were distinctly Japanese, the vendors, the aesthetics, the people were Japanese, thats why it was called Japantown obviously. 

But it was not familiar to him. Not in the way it should be at least. It was his culture but it also felt so alien.

V frowned before shrugging, "Then I don't know why you're actin' like that."

Takemura sighed again, "I am... not quite familiar with... this cuisine."

"Hey, you were the one who insisted on grabbing a bite," she said simply. She noticed the hesitation on his face and couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic. One of her major flaws according to Johnny. She looked Takemura up and down, observing the way he rolled the synth-sausages back and forth, how his eggs were half-eaten, his brows furrowed as if in deep contemplation. It must be the food, he must not like it.

She took his plate from him, switching out her empty one earning a look of surprise from the man. She called over the waitress, Lori, for the bill.

"Damn, must not've been as hungry as I thought," she casually stated to Lori. "He on the other hand, ate eeeeverything Tom made."

The waitress shot him a small smile, "Wow, well well, I'm impressed. Glad to see a suit enjoying our lowly diner food."

V winked at Takemura, hinting for him to go along with her, "Ahem, er, yes, it was very delicious. Thank you. Please tell Tom I send my regards."

"Sure thing, hun," Lori replied. "So, who's the lucky one that's gonna be gettin' this here bill?"

"Lady Luck shines on you," V said, gesturing and bowing at Takemura jokingly, laughing at herself in the process. "That was so lame."

Takemura shook his head also chuckling as he took the bill from Lori. He paid for the food, giving a little extra to Lori as he learned that it was part of the Western culture to do so. 

V jumped out of her seat in an unnecessarily flashy way and turned to leave the diner, Takemura following close behind quietly shaking his head.

"Thank you, V," he told her when they were outside. 

She looked back at him, brows arched up high, "For?"

"Another earful from Tom," Takemura said. "I do not think he would have been kinder to me this time."

"Hah!" V exclaimed. "Damn right. That man hates two types of people: corpos and picky eaters." She took his arm, pulling him along as she briskly walked towards her Mai Mai parked along the side of the street, "Come on, Goro, let's get you somethin' to at least appease that corpo palate of yours."

The older man was surprised at the physical contact but did not pull his arm back - from curiosity or excitement he could not say, but he allowed himself to be dragged by her anyway.

She opened the passenger side door for him, gesturing for him to get in as she rounded towards the driver's side. Once in, V started the car and stepped on the pedal, the tires screeched loudly at the sudden speed.

Takemura felt himself be pushed back into his seat by the quick acceleration. She was just as much of an aggressive driver as he expected.

"Where are we going?" He asked as he buckled his seatbelt quickly.

"Well," she began. "I guess one of the unexpected side effects of having Johnny Silverhand in my brain is becoming a regular at a slurp shop in Japantown."

Japantown again.

He couldn't help but let out a sigh.

What could there possibly be in Japantown to satiate his hunger? More mystery meat? 

"Fuck no, V. Do _not_ take this corpo asshole there."

'Why not?' she asked Johnny in her head. She could feel his annoyance at her growing by the minute the longer she spent time with Takemura. He had been brooding for a while since she agreed to Takemura's invitation to grab food together. V, as she always does, continued to ignore him though even that grew increasingly difficult.

Goro Takemura earned her trust. She didn't really see a problem with befriending the man. He was uptight, sure, but he was nice to her, even when his own life had fallen apart. He could have easily become a giant asshole about losing his standing at Arasaka given his unfailing loyalty towards the company and the family.

He could have easily made her the scapegoat for his anger in place of Yorinobu who seemed to have escaped the consequences of patricide. 

But here he was, sitting in the passenger seat of her car because he extended a friendly hand towards her. 

"Night City is... beautiful," he remarked as they drove across the bridge. "The night skyline reminds me of Tokyo."

V glanced at him, "You like cities, Goro?"

He shook his head, "I prefer the countryside. Away from the noise. If..."

"If...?" she echoed.

"If I were to leave Arasaka or if our plan does not succeed and I am able to keep my life, I would like to move to a quieter place in the countryside."

V scoffed, "And do what? Become a farmer or somethin'?"

Takemura turned his head to look at her, "Perhaps. If I move near the water then I could fish."

"Farming, huh, or fishing," V said. "Honestly, can't seem to picture you in overalls and rubber boots but hey, I support it. I'll come by to visit every now and then."

The older man smiled at the thought, "That would be welcome. I will make you a traditional meal and tea."

She smiled back, "I'll hold you to it."

They finally pulled up to the market at Japantown next to the entrance of Jig-Jig Street. V parked her car close to the stairs leading down to the lower level.

"Let's go," she said, leaving her car. 

Takemura followed her lead closely once again, watching as she greeted the man busking down the bottom of the steps. She handed some eddies to the man wearing a cowboy hat who tipped it in return. He figured they must have interacted a few times before. V must like the music the busker was playing. He couldn't recognise the tune but he also found it to his liking.

They walked further into the market where V then greeted a old vendor selling old LPs from a band called Samurai.

Ah, this was Johnny Silverhand's group, he recalled.

V and the vendor exchanged greetings loudly as if they were yelling at each other. He heard her ask the old man if he had new Samurai merchandise for her. New vintage shirts from tours or bootleg recordings she had specified.

He certainly didn't expect V to be a fan of Johnny Silverhand's music. Wasn't he the same man whose engram was slowly rewriting the neurons in her brain? 

"You are a fan of this Samurai band?" he asked, interrupting the conversation between the two.

The old vendor let out a loud guffaw, "Hah! Of course she is! Everyone with a workin' brain and workin' ears should be. The youth these days don't appreciate _real_ music anymore. Everyone's losin' their shit over these Us Cracks gals. Buncha manufactured corporate dolls if you ask me."

V laughed as she turned to Takemura, "Don't mind Karim, Goro. He's goin' senile."

"Come visit me again soon, kid," Karim said enthusiastically. "I'm tryin' to get these shirts from Samurai's concert tour in 2013." He leaned in closer, leaning over the counter, his voice low. "You know the one. The day Johnny's girlfriend, Alt, got kidnapped by 'Saka scum."

"Fuuuuuck," V let out in an equally low voice. "Insane stuff, man. Hey if you manage to grab a bootleg from that concert, I'll take it off your hands too."

Karim slammed his hand down on his counter, "Of course, V! Anything for my favourite customer."

The pair exchanged even more enthusiastic words before V turned to continue walking a little further on. They walked into a noodle restaurant, the smells of fresh broth and garlic filled Takemura's nose. He took in a deep, deep breath. His stomach growled violently.

V chuckled, "Christ, that sounded like a dying cat."

Takemura felt his face grow beet read, "I-I apologise... I appear to be much hungrier than I had initially thought."

She led him towards the counter, "Come on, let's get you somethin'. I'll ask the chef to throw in a little extra."

He watched as the said chef and hostess greeted V. It seemed to him that V was a regular at this place too. 

Once they were seated, their orders placed and eating some spring rolls as appetisers, Takemura finally felt some relief. His brain was overloaded by the flavour. Finally something decent, he thought to himself. He practically wiped the plate clean. He even ate the pieces of fried wrapper that flaked off the rolls.

"Damn, Goro!" V exclaimed. She ordered him more plates to which he was grateful.

He hadn't been able to eat much during his entire stay in Night City after the incident. He had just been forcing himself to eat whatever looked edible enough to him, with ingredients he was able to identify. He almost gave up on the idea of finding good food in the city if it wasn't for today. At least now, when he and V were not together he could have a place to go to order some food.

The noodles arrived shortly after, simultaneously with another extra order of spring rolls. Takemura quickly put his hands together, said _itadakimasu_ (thank you for the food) and went to town. V joined in, not quite eating in the same speed or intensity as the older man since she already had food earlier but still enjoying the food and the company. 

Not much words were exchanged as they ate but it did not last long anyway since the former bodyguard almost swallowed his food whole. He also quickly gulped down the water that was given to him.

"Wow..." V remarked. "I'm guessing you enjoyed that?"

He nodded, "Yes. I was starving. Thank you for bringing me here."

"Yeah, hah, don't mention it, Goro," she replied.

"So," he said. "you are a fan of Johnny Silverhand's music. How did that come to be?"

V looked pensive for a moment before looking as if she were having a conversation with herself, "It only started because I wanted to annoy Johnny."

"Annoy?" his brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I speak to Johnny. I see him even," she admitted.

Takemura did not hide the surprise on his face. If he had not known the context of the situation nor the presence of the biochip, he would have thought her in need of psychiatric evaluation, "That is quite interesting. How have you been getting along with him? Are you... friends?"

She nodded, "Sure, I guess so. We don't get along all the time but sure."

"I assume that he must not like me," he deduced. "Given his history with Arasaka."

Johnny appeared on the vacant seat on the side of their table, "Damn fuckin' right, prick." 

The Rockerboy held up his middle to finger to Takemura's face. 

"He thinks you're a nice, hardworking man who fell into an unfortunate situation," V said glaring at Johnny.

"Oh!" Takemura's eyes widened. "I did not expect that. Please extend my gratitude towards his sentiment."

"Fuck you, asswipe," Johnny continued. "V, flip him off for me."

V rolled her eyes refusing to show hostility towards the older man.

"Does anyone else know about your situation?" Takemura asked.

She shook her head, "Vik and you, that's about it."

"I see," he said thoughtfully. "All right, not to... talk shop, as you Westerners say, but I would like to discuss our plan again."

"Ugh, can we talk about it tomorrow? Let's just hang out, Goro," she pouted.

Takemura wiped his mouth with a paper towel. He set down the paper towel and arranged the used plates neatly on top of each other, "Fine. I suppose you are capable enough that our initial conversation will be enough. I will do my own reconnaissance and contact you. Stand by for my call. It should not take me more than a day."

V waved her hand nonchalantly, "Sure sure." 

"The increased presence of NCPD units will not be beneficial to us," he went on. "If Arasaka finds out we have infected the float, not only will they send their soldiers to stop us but they will also use the NCPD to make our lives harder."

"So what do you propose we do?" she asked. 

Takemura looked just as stumped as she was, "I am not very sure. I am not too familiar with the NCPD and their inner workings. Perhaps if I can consult with someone who works with them or for them..."

Johnny slammed his hand down on the table loud enough to startle V. Takemura did not seem fazed nor did he seem to notice that anything had happened.

"V, don't," The Rockerboy warned as he pointed a finger at her. "Don't do it. It hasn't even been a day."

"But... you heard him. He said it's not beneficial," she rationalised.

Takemura's brows furrowed, "Are you speaking to Johnny Silverhand?"

She nodded as she sighed, "I think I may be able to help you with that NCPD issue but..." She rubbed her temples. "It's complicated. Just, uh, wait for my call too."

"All right," he said. "I will await your call."

Johnny shook his head at V. His arms were crossed and a deep frown settled into his face. He can already see V's neurons firing, already see the gears turning. There she goes again, rationalising shit she shouldn't need to.

The entire situation was getting ridiculous. 

It was like some schoolyard crush except it was worse because it involved two fully-grown adults instead of children. At least children had the gumption to be up front about it.

He rolled his eyes. A cop and a corpo. Not just any corpo either, the fuckin' personal bodyguard of his nemesis, Saburo Arasaka.

V had the worst, the absolute _worst_ , taste in men and there was nothing he could do about it except sit back and watch,

* * *

V parted ways with Takemura in the wee hours of the morning. She had invited the man to stay over to crash on her couch since she found out from him that he'd been sleeping in his van but he refused citing that he needed to start on his reconnaissance mission.

"Goro, you need to sleep. Even just a few hours and somewhere a little more comfortable than an old van," she told him.

He insisted, however, that he was fine and that he was used to being up and about for long periods of time thanks to his harsh training at Arasaka. 

She had left him at the entrance of Jig-Jig Street while she drove on home with Johnny having expressed his relief at Takemura finally leaving. 

That was hours ago. Almost half a day ago actually. 

She slept, ate, worked out and caught up on her messages. She even went out and did some contracts for Coach Fred. The highlight of her morning had definitely been being in a brutal fistfight with twins who aren't really twins but clearly look like twins. 

She won the fight in the end, though she had to admit that it was more challenging than she had expected. She came out with bruises, cuts and scratches of her own, even came out with a split lip. No lipstick for her for a few weeks, she thought as she rolled her eyes at her reflection.

V cleaned and bandaged her wounds before sitting back down on her couch with ice on her lip.

No sign of Takemura yet.

No sign of River yet either.

She let out an exasperated grunt.

"This is so fuckin' dumb," she said to herself.

"Agreed," Johnny appeared beside her shaking his head. "You're acting like a dumb, hormonal teenager. Fuck, when I was a teen I was already raising hell and all that mushy shit was far out my mind."

V's head snapped at his direction in annoyance, "What mushy shit?"

He shrugged, "Friendships, relationships."

"Know what?" she said looking away. "That makes tooootal sense. I'm not even gonna argue with that."

He scoffed at the comment, "Why don't you call that Aldecaldo girl? Ain't she need somethin' from you?"

"One thing at a time, Johnny, besides I need to wait for Takemura's call. He said he was supposed to be done sometime today," she answered. "But all right, instead of sitting on our asses all day, let's make some money."

She looked through her messages, searching for something from her Fixers that would be quick to do. She spotted a contract from Regina that seemed like it wouldn't be too difficult. Just talk to a cop hiding out in Kabuki. Though she promised herself she wouldn't take a Regina job for another few weeks, it was the quickest thing she could do in the meantime.

Not one to be idle and risk accidentally thinking, she threw her ice pack down, loaded up in ammunition and laced her boots. She called Regina to acquire the details of the job and quickly made her way out.

It was still early enough in the day and the sun shone down brightly on Night City. She opted to take Jackie's bike out instead of her Mai Mai this time around because she wanted to feel the heat of the sun on her skin for once. She wore a loose white cropped tank with her purple yoro pants and black biker boots. The air was humid and she could feel herself sweating as she sat on Jackie's bike during a red light.

"Your friend Jackie's got good taste," Johnny remarked, sitting behind her. 

V nodded, "It's a nice bike. The torque and the suspension are top notch."

The light turned green and V accelerated forward prompting Johnny to hold on to her waist out of reflex.

"Do you actually need to do that? Are you gonna fall off?" she asked out of curiosity. She yelled out her question as the wind picked up and the bike's motor drowned out her voice.

"I don't know," he replied. "Probably not. And you don't need to yell, I can hear you perfectly. We share a brain remember?"

V turned a corner, nearing their destination, "You're right. Well okay fine, I guess you can hold on but I won't lie, that shit would be so funny if you fell off."

Johnny chuckled quietly, "Har har, so funny."

They reached the entrance to the Kabuki Market. V parked the bike nearby. She took out her handguns from the seat compartment and put them both in her shoulder holsters. She made her way towards the vendors where a Nomad man immediately caught her eye.

Not many Nomads made their way into the city and if they did it was just to drop off or pick up goods.

His outfit gave him away and so did his guarded demeanor. 

She approached him, careful not to seem too aggressive.

"Hey choom," she greeted. "Business booming?"

The Nomad man frowned at her, "Who's asking?"

She gave him a smile, "Just askin'. Ain't mean nothin' to it."

He scanned her from head to toe, visibly lingering on her guns, "What do you want, merc? Not small talk with a Nomad I'm sure."

"Lookin' for someone. Recognise this lady?" V transferred a picture of her target, Anna Hamill, to him.

"Hm," he said pensively. "Depends. Money talks as they say."

She quickly handed him eddies, "This should be more than enough."

The Nomad nodded as he pointed his chin towards the hotel nearby, "In there and because of your generosity, let me throw in a bonus. You ain't the first one here askin' about that lady. Fact, if you head over there now, you'll probably still catch up to 'em."

"What?" she asked. "You sayin' I'm not the first one here? Who else was askin' after her?"

He touched his chin, "Big man. Mean lookin' too. If I were you I'd hurry the fuck up."

V thanked the man as she rushed towards the hotel. She didn't even acknowledge the concierge who gave up running after her citing he wasn't being paid enough to risk his life. She ran up the stairs, jogging through each floor. It probably wasn't the smartest tactic but her adrenaline-fuelled brain was in overdrive mode.

Regina specifically asked that Anna be kept alive and V did not want one of the few good cops in the city dead and gone. If she left the city for a bit to lie low, she could have a better chance of regrouping to formulate a new plan.

That was the nature of the game. You had to lose sometimes before you can come out on top.

V reached the third floor when she heard loud voices coming from the room towards the end of the hall. She grabbed her Dying Night as she leaned by the door.

"1, 2, 3..." she whispered to herself before busting into the room. "Hands up, fuckface!"

She pointed her pistol at the man who was pointing his own handgun at Anna who in turn was pointing her own gun at him. She was visibly shocked at the sudden intrusion. V could see her panic rising in her eyes as she pointed her pistol at V and at the man back and forth.

Anna pointed her gun at V, "Who the hell are you?!" 

V did not answer her. She was too fixated at the man across from her. He had not once turned around yet to get a glimpse of her though she could tell by his broad shoulders that he was on high alert.

She lowered her gun. Her heart pounding.

"What the actual fuck..." she said finally. 

"Answer me, bitch!" Anna pressed. "Who sent you? NCPD? What, one wasn't enough?"

She took a step to come into the room further only to receive another threat from Anna.

"Listen," she heard the man say. "Whoever you are, I advise you to leave. Now. This is strictly NCPD business."

Anna pointed her gun at him now, "Fuck you! And fuck the NCPD, you corrupt assholes!"

V's heart continued to pound loudly. She was not afraid of the threat of death coming from the panicked police officer, rather, her leftover adrenaline and seeing the man in front of her caused her blood to rush.

She was not expecting to see him, least of all in this place at this time.

Life kept handing her a bizarre set of cards to deal with.

She swallowed as she finally found her voice. She felt almost like a statue.

"River...?"

He turned around quickly, his organic eye doubling in size upon realising who was in the room with him. 

Before each of them could even speak further, their reunion was cut short by a single shot that rang out through the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> any of you whores for Goro/V? ;)
> 
> thoughts on this??
> 
> this update came quicker than i expected! i hope to keep them coming hehe
> 
> i'll try my best
> 
> ty everyone!


	9. In the Crosshairs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> buckle up for a much longer read than usual!

"Argh! Goddammit!"

V leapt forward in reaction to the sound of the shot. She tried to reach towards River but in the end her still mostly-human body proved to be too slow. 

River recoiled forward at the impact of the bullet ripping through his body. He began to fall onto the floor as he gripped the side of his torso.

She rushed to catch the man to save him from at least suffering the pain of falling on a hard surface, "Shit, shit, shit." 

He fell on top of her in a brusque manner. Both of them crashed to the floor with V absorbing most of the pain. She gently laid his head down and tried her best to flip the detective onto his back.

She put both his hands on top of the bullet's entry point and put hard manual pressure on it, eliciting a loud groan of pain from him. He was bleeding and soon her hands were quickly covered in bright, warm blood. She felt every catecholamine in her body elevate as she knelt over River's body.

Why him? Why now? And why here?

"V!" Johnny called from behind. "Watch out!"

She glanced at Anna who seemed to be shaken by the sudden events currently unfolding in front of her. The panicked woman approached the pair, now pointing her gun at V.

"D-don't move!" she yelled. "You move and you'll get it just as bad as your partner!"

"Anna! For fucks sake, I'm not with NCPD!" she yelled back.

The woman lowered her gun for a second in a small moment of uncertainty which was the exact opportunity V took to try and disarm her. She swept her leg, successfully tripping Anna who in turn fell back onto the floor nearby. Another shot rang out, this time the bullet hitting the ceiling. Pieces of paint and cement crumbled, raining down on them.

V let go of River's hands and quickly straddled Anna as she attempted the wrestle the gun away. River's blood made it harder for V to get a good grip on the gun and she opted to smear it on Anna's eyes to momentarily blind her. 

"Fuck!" Anna screamed. She tried to wipe the blood away from her eyes. "Get off me!"

V kept pushing on, pinning down the woman's arms to her sides. Her boot stomped down on to Anna's hand with the balls of her foot. The policewoman cried out in pain.

"She let go," Johnny informed V. 

She quickly kicked her leg back hoping she was able to hit the gun. She listened for the sound of metal scraping on the floor and once she heard it, she gave Anna her undivided attention. 

The woman was thrashing wildly in an attempt to shake V off but was unsuccessful. She forced her eyes open, River's blood now smeared all over her face. She even tried to spit at V but struggled with that as her body's natural response to the situation made her mouth dry out. She looked like a trapped animal under V and it began to look pitiful.

"Anna! Calm down! Jesus Christ!" V yelled. "I'm not NCPD! I'm with Regina and I'm here to make sure you got out of the city _alive_!"

"You may not be NCPD but _he_ is!" she pointed at River who laid on the floor with a pained expression.

V kept pinning her down, "Then you better delta the fuck outta here. Clearly NCPD's on your ass and they know where you are. I'm on your side. You gotta trust me. I would've killed you by now if I really wanted to."

This seemed to calm Anna down a bit as she stopped thrashing wildly though she kept her guard up on high alert.

V knew she had no time to bargain with this woman. River was bleeding out beside her and she knew Trauma Team would be on the way as per the NCPD employee package benefits. Right now, her objective was to try and keep him conscious.

Johnny leaned down over River, reading V's thoughts, "He's alive and conscious but he's about to slip, V."

"Max Doc, in the pocket by my holster," she instructed to Johnny who then grabbed a Max Doc from one of the tactical pockets beside her gun holster. He put it on the floor beside her. "Look, Anna, I'm not here to kill you. I came here to warn you. Regina will personally see to it that the NCPD will lose track of you so you can hide out. Leave the city now and come back once things have died down."

Bewildered, she stared up at V to assess her sincerity. 

"Those corrupt fucks-"

"They'll get what's coming to them," V insisted.

She slowly loosened her grip on Anna but kept her hands on her. When Anna gave no indication of fighting back, V quickly jumped off and let go. Anna then stared at V for a moment before rushing out of the room. V ran up to lock the door just in case before diving back down to the floor to administer a good dose of the Max Doc.

"Breathe, River," she said as she held the equipment to his mouth. He took in as deep a breath as he could but winced and groaned. He finally felt some relief from the pain even when V pushed down on his torso. His lips looked pale and dry.

She removed her loose cropped tank top and pressed it on to River's wound leaving her only in her leopard bra, yoros and boots. She kept her hands over River's hands.

She heard him chuckling weakly.

"What?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

"Change your mind about me?" he teased. 

V looked down at her bare torso before rolling her eyes at him playfully, "Shut up. Trauma Team coming soon?"

"Few more minutes," the detective replied. His voice was still weak. "Leopard print, really?"

"I happen to like it," she said pushing on his torso a little harder.

River groaned in response, "Me... too..."

He looked up at her, examining the way her brows furrowed in worry. Her hair was in complete disarray and his own blood had smeared her cheek yet she was still so incredibly alluring.

She gave him a small smile despite her concern, "Dumbass." She too winced in pain as the skin on her lip split open again. Her own blood started dripping out from the wound. She was a complete mess and she was a bit embarrassed for River to see her like this.

He wiped her blood from her chin with his thumb. The sudden movement causing him to groan a little. V urged him to relax.

"You been raising hell out there?" he asked with a short chuckle.

"A bit."

V's phone began to ring and Takemura's picture appeared in her optics. She let it ring, figuring she'd call him back once Trauma Team arrives and she was sure they'd be there to take care of River.

Johnny appeared in front of her, standing over her and River, "Let's go. That corpo's more important than this cop right now. 'Sides, he won't die from this anyway."

"I'll leave once I know he's okay," she replied out loud accidentally.

River found it odd the way she seemed to have spoken to someone in front of her. He looked up but saw nobody there. She behaved in the same way at the Trailer Park. When she thought she was alone, he overheard her talking as if somebody else was there. He didn't intend to but he eavesdropped into the conversation, it was right by his window so it would have made it difficult not to hear what she was saying.

He made a mental note to ask her about it once all this was over.

Though, could he even get the chance? They only found each other again by coincidence this time and she explicitly told him she did not want anything to do with him again.

Before he could even decide anything, a notification of Trauma Team's arrival popped up in his optics.

"They're here," he told her. He saw her sigh in relief and it made him feel a little hopeful. "Take my coat, V." He pulled his hand away and slid his arm out from one of the sleeves.

"Don't worry about it, River," she replied. "We need to keep putting pressure on."

"I can't just let you leave in your underwear," he argued. He pulled out his other hand from under hers and quickly slid his other arm out. A sharp pain shot right up in his torso as he pulled his coat from under him, handing it to her. "Thanks, V, for staying, for saving my life."

She threw on his coat, some blood had stained the inner left side of it. She squeezed his hands and pat his chest gently.

"I'll... I'll come see you soon," she told him as she grabbed Anna's gun and rushed out the door, leaving it unlocked for Trauma Team. She didn't want to leave him in that state but she had no choice. She had to go or else risk being put in a Detention Centre for interrogation. River was still NCPD after all and they would need someone to pin the incident on. Rather it be the runaway Anna than her.

She still lived and survived in Night City after all.

V climbed out of a nearby window, careful not to leave bloody handprints. She kept her hands in River's deep coat pockets to avoid inadvertently touching anything. It was a difficult climb down especially since the stairs of the fire exit cut off suddenly on the 2nd floor.

Once she made it on the ground floor, she walked towards where her bike was parked. It was already mid-afternoon by the time she got out. Trauma Team's AV was parked outside one of the market's entrances. 

She called up Takemura, informing him that she had been busy dealing with something but that she was free to meet with him as of the moment. He told her to meet at a discreet parking lot in Arroyo close by Arasaka Industrial Complex.

She then called up Joss to let her know what happened to River. She figured Joss would rather find out from someone directly rather than see it broadcasted on the news or have to pry it from River's mouth. He already kept enough secrets from her. 

"Oh my God," Joss breathed out. "That lughead... thank you, V. Thank you for being there and thank you for telling me. God knows he'd just keep this to himself. I need to find someone to watch over Randy while I come see River."

"Okay, Joss. I'll come by later... to see him," she said. "I'm assuming he'll be admitted into the Crisis Medical Centre."

Joss buried her head in her hands, "I'll meet you there soon. Thanks again, V."

She only nodded.

V rode on her bike. Some of River's blood on her face streaked across her cheek from the wind and dried out, as did his blood on her hands. She should've gone home and cleaned up first but if she was honest with herself, it was the last thing on her mind.

Her brain was in shambles.

She hadn't expected River to be there and least of all for him to get shot. 

Nor did she expect to feel waves and waves of panic and worry over him.

She was almost beside herself in that room. Had he not responded to the Max Doc positively she didn't know how she would react. 

When he started joking with her, she felt some relief. 

But did he notice the way her lip quivered? Did he notice the way her voice cracked as she spoke? Or the way her hands shook?

Did he notice the desperate way in which she yelled at Anna? 

Did he notice her panic? Her worry? The heartache she felt?

Johnny stayed quiet. Quietly observing her barrage of thoughts and emotions. He was an asshole, that much he knew, but he had his moments in which he knew better than to butt in with his own thoughts. She was battling an internal conflict and his smart-ass remarks would only make it worse. 

He had finally found someone who tolerated him enough to call him a friend and even as a series of ones and zeroes, he did not want to lose that connection with her.

He didn't agree, obviously, and he found the situation to be childish at best but in the end it wasn't his life nor his body. He had already decided that he would help her live out her life even if it meant ripping him out from her brain.

And if he was also being honest with himself, he had no right to criticise her feelings. He too fell in love once and his own strong feelings for her caused him to act out. When he thought he was saving her, he was actually dooming her to forever be trapped in the net, severing her ties to her body.

It haunted him until the day he died and continued to fuel his rage.

Nobody else tolerated him enough after Alt. Not even Rogue or Kerry.

He figured he would lay off on V for a while. Especially after today's incident. He wouldn't encourage it but he also wouldn't fuck with her like he usually did.

She had some introspection to do, something she completely avoided and he wasn't going to influence it in any way.

He had to postpone his criticisms of her choices for sometime in the future.

They arrived at the parking lot where Takemura was waiting. He was leaning on the van with his arms crossed.

V could see a dark shadow cast on his eyes. 

The man really needed to sleep.

"V, excellent timing," he remarked. "I assume you have been busy." 

He looked her up and down, noting the dried blood on her face and hands.

"Y-yeah," she replied hesitantly. "Could say so."

Takemura opened the back of his van, taking out a small jug of water, "Clean yourself. We must not draw unwanted attention to ourselves... V...?"

"Hm?"

"Did you forget to wear a shirt?" he asked.

She looked down to her torso where her leopard print bra was in full view. She was midway through removing River's coat in order to give herself a quick rinse, "Uh, long story."

Takemura looked away in embarrassment as he handed her the jug. He walked towards the other side of the van to give V some privacy.

"Jeez," Johnny began. "You'd think he'd never seen a half-naked woman before... unless...?"

V chuckled, "Honestly, who knows."

Johnny smirked, "You not bothered by me being here?" 

"Eh," she shrugged. "You've seen me actually naked. This barely compares anymore. Plus I’ve accepted the fact that you live in my brain and see, feel and hear almost everything I think about."

"Waste of water though," she remarked as she poured the water over her hands and tried rub some of River's blood off. A slight red stain remained but she figured it would do for now. Then she began to work on her cheek. "Damn, I just put on fresh makeup this morning."

Might as well wash her face instead of having a noticeably different looking patch of skin. Once she was done, she attempted to apply a fresh coat of lipstick. That at least she could do to add some colour to her face that wasn't River's or her blood.

As she held up her mirror to her face, however, she saw her busted lip and the dried blood around it.

Oh right. 

She sighed. She licked some of it off, getting a strong metallic taste she was all too familiar with. It wasn't her first split lip and it certainly wouldn't be her last.

"Okay, Goro," she called. "Done."

He came out from the other side of the van still avoiding looking at her, "I... I am afraid I do not have a spare shirt for you."

V giggled. What a prude, she thought. Though she also thought that it was kind of... cute, the way the older man acted, "No need to be embarrassed. I'm not!"

"V-Very well," he conceded. He straightened himself out but avoided looking directly at her. It was quite obvious that he chose to look at her eyebrows instead. "I believe I have collected enough information to try. The complex is well guarded but we should be able to manage. The floats are located in the middle of the warehouse. Your task is simple - get inside."

V tilted her head, "Uh... how?"

"You are a thief, are you not?" he said. "The more quiet, the better. Once there, locate the largest platform and infect its systems. I will create a diversion should you be exposed. They will not discover our intentions. Arasaka hates it the most when they are unable to communicate with each other. It will be pure chaos."

He led her down further into the parking lot where he proceeded to climb over a tall fence.

"Come," he gestured for her to follow. "I have found a good place to observe."

She followed his lead, jumping over the tall fence after him. He then walked into a construction site. V assumed they were building a new apartment complex or corpo tower. It was always one of those.

Takemura looked around, "Ah, it is, as you say, Lady Luck shining on us."

V cringed, "Ugh, please don't remind me that I ever said that."

He laughed at the thought, "I liked it. Your attempts at... poetry are welcome. I only say this because it seems nobody is here today."

They soon made their way into an elevator, Takemura taking the far corner while she stood across from him. He continued to avert his gaze even when she put on River's coat. The pair did not exchange words as they continued walking, making their way further and further up the building.

The air started to grow chilly as the sun finally started setting beneath the horizon.

"Let us scan the area," he said as they arrived at a small overlook. "I will try here. You will have the best view on the left. This old scope should be good for something."

He leaned on the railing looking over the entire complex. She could spot mechs, AVs, vans and lookout towers from their vantage point. 

"Shall we begin?" he asked as he handed her an old pair of binoculars.

"Mind runnin' out to get some pizza?" she replied playfully. "I heard Buck-A-Slice's got a 2 for 1 sale goin' on."

Takemura groaned, "Please... the cuisine is..."

She lightly punched his arm, "Hey! That slurp shop I took you to the other night was pretty good!"

"Hm, that is the only exception."

V laughed as she looked through the scope, she spotted even more things she knew would be useful to keep in the back of her mind. They spotted a van that regularly circled the compound, a service tunnel, a footbridge, a transformer, satellites, turrets and a few side entrances. She took note of all the things she could hack and use to distract the guards with.

River's coat would need to stay behind if she was gonna do this silently. It was comfortable and warm but it was long and heavy. It could just slow her down or make it easier to spot her.

She leaned away from the railing, "I think I've seen everything. We goin' in?"

"Is this what you said before entering Konpeki Plaza?" he teased. "I wish to be certain we have not overlooked anything. We should wait and observe. If nothing out of the ordinary happens then yes - 'we goin' in'."

V snorted, "All right. Sounds sensible. Better get comfy then."

The pair took shifts to watch over the compound. The sun had tucked itself almost fully underneath the sky. They ended up ordering the pizza V suggested and she met the delivery guy at the parking lot. At first Takemura wasn't too thrilled by the food but his instincts kicked in and he ended up eating more than half the pizza by himself. 

"Perhaps, Night City cuisine just needs some getting used to," he remarked as he wiped the grease off his fingers.

V patted her full belly, "That's fair. Never really thought about it since I grew up here." She had eaten a full box of pizza despite there being a stinging pain emanating from her busted lip. Her appetite was voracious.

"Earlier," he began. "When you were covered with blood. Was it mercenary work?"

She nodded slowly, "I guess you could classify it as that. Someone got shot and I... tended to their wounds." She stared down at her hands, still slightly stained with River's blood. He was probably at the Medical Centre by now.

She wondered how he was doing. Was he sleeping? Did Joss end up visiting him?

Maybe she could send him a quick message.

"You are quite altruistic for a mercenary," he observed. He recalled their quick outing the night before. She was very friendly towards the people she interacted with and very thoughtful as well.

He looked at her. 

The first time they met she was lying amongst the dirt and trash just outside of the city. Dried blood had taken up half of her face and there was a visible bullet hole in the middle of her forehead, in it was the said bullet buried in her skull. Pieces of her brain matter splattered around her head. Her dark hair was matted and she was deathly pale. Her clothes were tattered, he assumed, from being dragged and thrown at that spot. A foul smell encapsulated her entire body.

When Takemura first met V, she was basically dead.

He did what he could to keep her alive but it seemed as though the biochip had already done most of the work.

The former bodyguard was impressed at her tenacity. She gained a new lease on life and despite it being limited, she managed to come back from that ordeal whole and even befriended the man whose engram was slowly rewriting her brain.

Now as he looked at her, he saw a woman full of vigor. Her hair, though messy, looked as if it were a lion's mane. She had an odd taste in aesthetics but it suited her. Her features were strong - he even noticed her split lip and wondered why she hadn't treated it yet.

But her eyes... her eyes, were noticeably kind despite her optics being all black with small white outlines. They also betrayed, at times, a hint of sadness and conflict.

"You finally lookin' at me," she said suddenly.

"Oh," he looked away. "I apologise. I did not mean anything by it."

Perhaps if they succeeded, he could ask his Hanako-sama to take kindly on V and offer her some assistance.

"You ever dated before, Goro?" she asked.

Takemura felt his ears grow hot at the question. He quickly looked away, "Ahem... er, I... It was never something I had the privilege of experiencing." 

"Really?" she said. "I pegged you as a romantic type. You know, with all the poetry."

His ears grew even hotter. He wondered if she noticed, "Did you ever?"

"Uh, sure," V replied. "Kind of. I don't know if casual dates count."

"So you have not been in a serious relationship?" he asked, finding himself unexpectedly interested.

"Not really, I guess," she said. She smiled at him from her seat on the pallet, "I don't think people like me get to have those things in Night City."

He nodded in understanding and agreement, "Do you think about it though?"

She looked away into the Industrial Park mindlessly watching the same mech pace back and forth, "Sometimes. I'm still human after all."

Takemura nodded once more, "I am the same. Maybe in a different life."

"Maybe," V echoed with a chuckle. "Or maybe in this one. You've still got some decades ahead of you. Probably a lot more knowing how much Arasaka invests in people and things it deems to have value. Aging is a thing of the past now especially for corpos, suits and everyone else that's rich."

He did not respond to that. His future was still uncertain. He did not know if Hanako would believe him nor did he know if he would be able to reclaim his title at the company. For all he knew, he could still be a traitor for abandoning Saburo.

It was one of his biggest regrets - leaving Saburo's body merely because Yorinobu ordered it.

He wasn't Yorinobu's bodyguard. 

Takemura felt as though he had allowed that _murderer_ to escape punishment.

He knew from the beginning that something was amiss. There was nobody, no way Saburo could have been poisoned.

They continued to wait out the Industrial Park, exchanging stories, life experiences, poems. 

Takemura learned that V was born and raised in Night City. She had had a family - parents and siblings and she went to school like all the normal kids her age. He also learned that something had happened with her brother and her family life was never the same again. She didn't really go into too much detail but only shared that it was a case of corrupt NCPD officers. 

She shared with him many experiences she had as she lived in the streets for majority of her teens until she learned to trust a man named Padre Ibarra. He was apparently a significant figure-head in Heywood and it was a testament to her skills that she was noticed by him. She became almost like his right-hand man. 

The priest was the one who helped her secure a reputation in Heywood, who connected her to her late best friend Jackie and taught her about the nature of the game. He helped her polish up her skills and hone them into what she was right now.

Her life was almost a parallel to his it seemed.

He shared with her his own experiences. How he was picked up by Arasaka as a child in Chiba-11 while bathing in the river. He always prided in himself in his hygiene. Not once in his life did he ever accrue any dirt underneath his fingernails... well, until now at least.

He was without his tools. He could not trust the water in this city, especially in the very occasional times he spent sleeping in a motel when he was desperate for a shower.

It was unexpectedly liberating to be dirty for once, a sentiment he also shared with her.

"V, do not make a sudden movement," Takemura said. "Up there. Look."

She spotted a grey cat sitting atop the cement blocks. It sat tall and proud as it also stared back at them, its tail waving back and forth.

"Fine lookin' feline," V remarked. 

He turned to her, "It is the first animal I have seen in Night City, aside from the cockroaches."

The cat licked its paw nonchalantly.

"First it was the birds," V began. "Then it was dogs. Cats were actually the last to go. Put up a fight the longest."

Takemura observed the cat for a while then smiled, "Perhaps it is a _bakeneko_."

" _Bakeneko_?" she echoed. "What's that?"

Johnny appeared suddenly. He gently played with the cat and the cat in turn seemed to respond to him. V wondered if Takemura noticed anything odd. He took a long drag of his cigarette,

"A cat spirit," Takemura answered. "It brings misfortune, can restore the dead back to life."

V tilted her head again, "Believe in ghosts?"

"The Relic lets you talk to the dead, does it not?" he said. "I believe we are past the point of belief."

She stared at Johnny who minded his own business. He had not butt in even once on their conversations. Of course, she already knew what was running through his mind. He didn't exactly hide anything from her though she did him at times.

He continued to mind his business feigning ignorance as though he could not read her own thoughts.

She spotted a small smile creeping up on his face as he petted the _bakeneko_.

She hadn't really much reason to continue living if she were being fair. She didn't have a family anymore and her best, closest friend was already dead too. She didn't have much friends nor did she even have a relationship or would she ever want one, she thought.

She couldn't put someone in that situation. She couldn't be that selfish. 

She was _dying_.

Even if they could somehow separate Johnny from her brain, how sure would they be that she would still be alive? And what would happen to Johnny then?

They were friends, that much she was sure of.

Maybe he could do more with a new life than she could.

The smile on Johnny's face disappeared upon hearing her thoughts. She shouldn't be considering these things.

He looked at her and found her looking at him.

They silently read each other's emotions - a mix of worry, fear, uncertainty and dread.

The _bakeneko_ jumped down from the cement blocks, scurrying away into the shadows. 

* * *

It was morning as V drove back down to the Crisis Medical Centre in her Mai Mai.

She had tried to visit River the night before after she and Takemura finished their mission at Arasaka Industrial Park but she had forgotten about the time. When she got there it was almost midnight and her appearance had caused a rush of security guards questioning her presence there. She also had forgotten about her slightly blood-stained hands, face and lip but she at least remembered to leave her guns in Jackie's bike.

All she was thinking about was making sure if River was okay.

When she finally pushed past the security guards to get to the Emergency Department's front desk, she inquired about Detective River Ward.

"Relation?" the nurse asked her.

"Um..." she wondered what would ensure she would be able to meet with him. Friend wouldn't cut it, so... "Uh, girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend?" the nurse echoed. "Are you asking or telling."

"Telling," she said more confidently.

Dammit, she thought. Her overworrying made her become less confident.

The nurse gave her a small smile, "You look like you could use some medical attention too, you know."

V relaxed a little as she watched the nurse wave the guards away.

"Thank you," she said. "And it's all right. Not my first rodeo."

The nurse nodded, "I can tell. So it says in the system that he's been transferred to the Trauma Centre floor. I'd need to confirm with his nurse first but even so, visiting hours have already ended. Come back in the morning okay? I'll leave a message to let him know you stopped by. What name should I leave for the day staff?"

"V."

"V?"

She nodded. 

"Thank you, V," the nurse said. "We'll see you in the morning."

V sighed. There was nothing she could do except come back in the morning. 

She thanked the nurse as she left and made her way home to clean up. Her and Takemura's mission had been a success and all they had to do now was wait for parade day. 

He reminded her to call him about her NCPD solution and she agreed, though she wondered how she'd be able to bring it up to River at his current state.

Now morning, she picked up River's coat from her trusted dry cleaners and two cups of coffee. She parked her Mai Mai at the Medical Centre's parking lot and went inside, holding the items in her hands.

She looked and felt fresher, no longer covered in dried blood or with an exposed split lip. She applied some gauze and a small bandage on it this morning herself before making her way to the hospital.

V wore a bright red bustier with black lace trimmings, black Militech cargo pants paired with her black Militech combat boots. She had stolen both off a Militech truck she once hit with Jackie when they were bored one day and challenged each other to do some stupid shit.

They never really suffered any consequences for that and V chalked it up to luck. That or there wasn't really anything of much value in the truck they chose to hit.

Still, the adrenaline of hitting up a Militech vehicle in her late-teens was something she will never forget.

She approached the front desk looking for the nurse she had spoken to last night. But, she figured, the nurse probably left already since it was 9am and change of shift passed.

V met the ward clerk instead at the front desk.

"Hello," she greeted with a warm smile. "I'm lookin' to visit a Detective River Ward. I was here last night too. I was told he got transferred to the Trauma Centre."

"Name?" the clerk asked.

"V."

She jacked into the hospital's system and the clerk scanned her information. When the clerk finished, V was given a short set of directions to River's room in the Trauma Centre. She went past the ER doors and into the hospital where she had to ride the elevator up to the 4th floor.

"418... 418..." she repeated. "Ah, there it is."

It was around the corner from the front desk and a bit past the nurses' station. She knocked on the door before sliding it open and pulling the curtains back.

River was sitting up on his bed with his eyes closed, wearing a standard hospital gown. He had nasal prongs attached to him as well as continuous monitoring devices. She could hear the steady beeping of the machine as it monitored his heart rate. 

He seemed to be asleep.

She slid the door closed along with the curtains.

V hung his coat in one of the lockers in the room and set down the coffees on his tray table.

She tried to be as quiet as possible as she pulled a chair up closer to his bed.

The room was nice, neat and _private_. No everyday person could afford something like this.

It was either Ripperdocs or back alley med centres.

The benefits of an NCPD health insurance were never clearer than they were today.

She smiled as she saw a vase of flowers on the drawer beside his bed, along with some children's drawings. His niece and nephew clearly stopped by already.

They drew River catching bad guys, busting drug rings and taking on ten gangbangers alone.

Those kids, V chuckled. They really do have a vivid imagination.

She also spotted fluids being infused into him through an IV in his left arm. The nurses probably didn't need to struggle too much seeing as his veins popped out without much effort. She even spotted a grenade-shaped drain sticking out from his torso. Some blood had already pooled into it.

She stared at him. She couldn't help but feel immensely worried though she couldn't understand why.

The quiet of the room was interrupted by her sudden hacking. She coughed up blood as her body folded from the sudden onslaught of a sharp stabbing pain in her head. She turned away from River, her vision blurring.

The noise she generated roused the sleeping detective.

"V...?" 

He looked at her as she stood in the far corner of the room, her back to him. She continued to cough.

"V? Are you okay?" he called out.

She waved him away. He shouldn't be worrying about her. _He_ was the one in the hospital with lines and a drain attached to him.

"I-I'm fine," she replied after the coughing subsided. Some blood had splattered onto the bandage on her lip.

He watched as she made her way into the washroom inside the room and heard the faucet running. When she emerged, he gave her a concerned look.

"How are you?" she asked, hoping they wouldn’t linger on her coughing fit.

He took the hint and shifted in his bed, wincing a little as he did so, "Still kickin'. Not my first time getting shot. Not the worst one either."

She approached his bed again, adjusting the chair, "Brought you some coffee. Not really sure if you're allowed to drink that though."

"Hm," he said. "I don't know if I can either but hey, it'll be our secret."

"Hey I'm not getting in trouble with your nurse if I give you some contraband," she replied jokingly.

The pair laughed together though River had to stop first and hold his torso.

"Got new stitches to add to the collection," he said as he lifted up his gown to show her a large dressing reinforced with medical tape and an abdominal pad. "It doesn't hurt as much as it should. They been good with giving me pain meds."

V couldn't hide the worried look on her face and River opted to change the subject.

He covered his dressing with his gown, "So... girlfriend, huh? I went in for emergency surgery single as ever and came out with a girlfriend apparently."

Her eyes widened as her face turned a bright shade of red, "It was... I just..."

River smiled brightly, "Relax, V. Just teasing."

"Ugh, I hate you," she muttered. "Brought you back your coat too by the way. It's all cleaned up and fresh."

"You are such a considerate girlfriend," he continued. The comment earned him a punch on his arm and he chuckled. "I'm already injured, V, please."

Though he teased her, he wouldn't have objected to the thought of V being his girlfriend. She was already aware of how he felt anyway. 

And their chemistry... was it just him or did their chemistry get even better?

He smiled warmly as he looked at her. Her long dark hair shone under the fluorescent lights, bouncing as she moved, her cheeks had a healthy pink colour to them and her eyes met his own with the same warmth.

It was fucked up but maybe getting shot was a blessing to him.

"Thanks for coming to see me, V," he told her gently. He reached out to hold her hand. "You saved my life yesterday."

She shook her head, accepting the small gesture of affection, "Nah, I just put pressure on and gave you a Max Doc. Trauma Team, the surgeons and nurses did all the work."

"V, come on," River insisted. "You deserve to take credit too, you know. Who knows how that whole thing could've ended if you didn't convince that lady to leave."

"Why were you there in the first place?" she asked.

"Oh, well, it's strictly NCPD business," he replied. "But... knowing you you'd just pry it outta me anyway. I was there to take her in."

Her brows furrowed, "Arrest her? For what?"

V recalled Regina's summary. From what she gathered there was nothing to arrest her for. All she did was...

All she did was uncover a large corruption scandal among the NCPD.

Corruption wasn't uncommon among the police. 

What made this case different was the sheer number of people involved, the amount of money that was embezzled and the number of people that were trafficked.

"I was told she was smuggling drugs and trafficking people," River answered.

"Interesting," Johnny commented from the other side of the bed. "Boy scout was told a different story than the one we have."

V looked thoughtful for a moment. She pulled her hand away from him.

He noticed her change in demeanor.

But he also wondered... "What were _you_ doing there, V?"

Before she could answer, the door to the room slid open and a man in scrubs approached the pair with a smile. He brought with him a medication bag and a few pills.

"Hello!" he greeted. "I'm River's nurse today. Just gonna give him some ten o'clock pain meds."

"Hi," V greeted back.

As the nurse hung the medication bag on the IV pole, he turned to River, "So, today, we're going to try and get up to walk, all right? I'm going to come with you for the first one and assess how well you do then hopefully you can start walking on your own."

"Sure," River replied. "Maybe a little later? My girlfriend's visiting for a bit."

The nurse finished hanging the medication and handed River the pills. He turned to V after, his expression remained as cheery as ever, "You must be _Valerie._ "

He stretched his hand out to shake hers, a gesture she reciprocated with some hesitancy. His grip was tight but she did not show any inclination that she was intimidated.

She couldn't help but feel something off about the man but she wasn't sure what it quite was.

"I'll be back in a bit," he said. "If you need me, just call okay?"

When the nurse left, sliding the door closed behind him, River smiled, "Valerie. It suits you.”

If she wasn’t too deep into her thoughts, V would’ve lingered on the way her real name sounded in his mouth. 

When she didn’t respond, River moved on, but noted her change in behaviour, “I feel like I've seen him before. I'm not sure where though."

V nodded quietly. The mood in the room shifted, that much was clear. She stood to draw the curtains together. She too felt like she had seen that man before.

"Talk to me, V," he implored. "What are you thinking about?"

She frowned, unsure if she should share her thoughts to River. She sat back down on the chair beside him.

She decided she would need to investigate her instincts further. It was one of the reasons she was still alive to this day. Her instincts never failed her and the short interaction she had with River's nurse left a weird taste in her mouth. 

It could be nothing but it could also be something and she was going to find out what it was.

It was V's turn to change the subject, "I see the kids stopped by." She held up the drawings to show River and both chuckled at the scenarios the children put him in.

"Man, if they only knew how much paperwork there is to do," he said. "Might lose the whole appeal of the job."

"Wait, you _don't_ take on ten gangers at once?" V joked.

He laughed, "Unfortunately not! Not as good as you at that kinda stuff." He unconsciously held on to V's hand once more. "Joss was here yesterday. I assumed you called her about this entire situation."

She nodded, "You kept enough secrets from her already, River."

"I know," he sighed, "There ain't anything wrong with it. I just didn't want her to worry. Especially since Randy's also still recovering."

"Hey," V stroked his hand with her thumb. "Stop actin' like me and let other people worry about you."

"Oh so you know how stubborn you are then," River commented. 

She rolled her eyes, "Of course I do."

A message popping up in her optics interrupted her conversation with River. It came from an unknown number. 

_Should've minded your own business._

That was all that the message contained.

She had a sinking feeling in her stomach as she suspected who it had come from. She glanced at River who _seemed_ none the wiser. 

Should she tell him about all this? 

Or maybe... he was involved?

If her suspicions were correct then this room would not be safe to speak in. 

"Go with your gut, V," Johnny encouraged. "Somethin's seriously not right here."

She looked around, searching for anything that might stick out in the room. She recalled a mission she did for Regina and she pretended to drop a paper towel on the floor.

"Oops," she said as she bent down to pick it up. She examined the underside of River's bed. Everything seemed to be in order. Nothing immediately stood out upon first glance.

Then, she spotted something when she scanned the bed with her optics.

There was a screw that seemed to be a different colour and appearance than the rest.

Johnny kissed his teeth, "It's a fuckin' bug. This room's fuckin' bugged, V."

V picked up the paper towel, her heart pounding at the discovery. She tried her best to look unfazed as she continued to speak with River.

But it plagued the back of her mind. That nurse looked familiar and the way he said her name... 

It was almost threatening despite the overly cheery way he said it.

Just what in the hell did she land herself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this update came quicker than i expected HAHA  
> everyone thank the 10 espresso shots i drank yesterday!  
> i feel like i transcended into a different plane of existence or somethin, the ideas just kept flowing!
> 
> i'll try to update as much as i can before i have to buckle down next week and probably be busy for the next 2-3 weeks after
> 
> i appreciate everyone for supporting and being patient and understanding ><


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